FAMOUS  MISSIONARIES 
°Xjhe  REFORMED  CHURCH 


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Good,  James  I.  1850-1924. 
Famous  missionaries  of  the 
Reformed  Church 


V 

Famous  Missionaries  of  The 
Reformed  Church 


REV.  JAMES  I.  GOOD,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Dogmatics  and  Reformed  Church  History  in  the  Ursinus 
School  of  Theology 


Author   of   "Women   of  the  Reformed  Church,"  "HistoriccLl  Manua.1 

of  the  Reformed  Church/'   "History   of  the  Reformed 

Church  in  the  United  Sta.tes,"  '^History  of  the 

Reformed  Church  of  Germany,"  Etc. 


FIRST  EDITION 


Published  by 

THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   BOARD   OF  THE    REFORMED   CHURCH 

IN   THE   UNITED   STATES 

1903 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

F.    Coillard Opposite  page  no 

D.    Abeel Opposite  page  222 

Dr.  Theodosius  Vanderkemp Opposite  page    51 

Grave  of  Madame  Coillard Opposite  page  128 

Rev.  Dr.  Verbeck  in  1897 Opposite  page  269 

Rev.   Benjamin   Escande Opposite  page  150 

Rev.   Dr.   Benjamin  Schneider Opposite  page  275 

Rev,   Robert   Junius Opposite  page    37 

Madame    C.    Coillard Opposite  page  119 


INTRODUCTION. 


^"I^IHE  gulf   stream  of  modern  Christianity  is 
^    I      Christian  missions.     On  and  on,  while  the 

^'^^^J  chilling  winds  from  the  desolate  shores  of 
doubt  vex  and  rock  the  whole  sea  of  Christian  truth, 
this  influence  keeps  steadily  flowing  towards  the 
frozen  zones  of  heathenism.  Already  these  Arctic 
shores  of  desolation  and  chill  begin  to  shoot  forth 
such  verdure  as  grows  upon  the  banks  of  the  River 
of  Life. 

Because  of  the  recent  revival  of  missionary  activ- 
ity in  the  Reformed  Church  we  are  in  danger  of  for- 
getting that  this  candle  never  went  out.  There  were 
times  when  it  was  burning  low,  but  it  was  burning. 
Though  its  shining  was  in  one  of  the  lower  windows 
of  the  temple,  yet  its  light  was  none  the  less  steady ; 
and  the  highway  along  which  it  shone  was  so  bright 
that  no  man  needed  to  stumble  therein  if  he  were 
searching  for  the  Light  of  Life. 

We  rejoice  then  that  such  a  successful  effort  has 


vi  Introduction. 

been  made  to  gather  together  in  compact  form  the 
lives  and  doings  of  the  missionaries,  who  in  those 
days  of  difficult  beginnings  delighted  to  wage  the 
warfare  for  the  conquest  of  the  world,  under  the 
Reformed  banner.  The  reading  of  this  volume  will 
doubtless  be  a  surprise  to  many.  There  are,  we  ven- 
ture to  assert,  but  very  few  who  knew  that  we  had 
such  a  respectable  number  of  men  and  women  who 
will  be  numbered  among  the  heroic  missionaries  of 
the  Church.  It  will  be  a  revelation  to  very  many 
who  should  have  known  better.  We  shall  wonder 
that  some  former  historian  did  not  glean  in  such  a 
rich  field.  But  it  may  possibly  have  been  reserved 
for  such  a  time  as  this,  when  the  missionary  tide  is 
swelling  with  such  confidence,  and  which  will  need 
just  such  facts  to  steady  it  from  feeling  an  ebb  that 
might  prove  disastrous  and  disheartening.  Guided 
by  the  experience  and  success  of  these  consecrated 
missionaries,  we  will  feel  ourselves  safer  in  casting 
into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  the  greater  gifts  that 
will  be  needed;  and  in  consecrating  our  sons  and 
daughters  to  this  particular  form  of  Christian  work. 
Though  there  are  other  branches  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  that  have  had  a  larger  army  in  the  field,  yet 
taking  all  the  circumstances  we  need  not  be  ashamed 


Introduction.  vii 

of  what  we  have  done,  and  at  what  we  are  doing 
now.  The  experiences  of  the  past  will  guide  us  in 
the  future.  Our  sails  are  being  set  with  a  purpose 
of  doing  our  share  in  the  work  of  giving  the  Gospel 
to  those  who  have  long  stretched  out  their  hands  in 
vain.  We  are  catching  the  influence  of  that  morn- 
ing light  which  is  breaking,  and  we  are  going  up  be- 
cause we  feel  that  the  Lord  is  with  us. 

We  rejoice  that  this  book  adds  another  to  the 
growing  literature  of  the  Reformed  Church.  It  is 
the  very  highest  type  of  literature  for  an  age  that  is 
being  twisted  and  is  not  always  sure  of  its  bearings. 
From  the  consecration  and  devotion  of  the  mission- 
aries come  the  assurance  that  the  Word  and  Spirit 
have  not  lost  their  power.  These  missionaries  have 
gone  forth  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  and  they  have 
not  preached  and  labored  in  vain.  They  have  not 
been  ashamed  of  the  Gospel,  and  it  has  proved  to 
be  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  unto  the  salvation 
of  men.  Some  one  asked  a  little  while  ago  in  a 
company  of  ministers  what  kind  of  literature  should 
be  placed  into  the  hands  of  a  young  man  who  was 
disposed  to  be  doubting.  A  hymn  book,  said  one; 
a  service  book,  said  another ;  a  life  of  Christ,  said  a 
third,  like  the  Christ  of  History  by  John  Young.  We 


viii  Introduction. 

believe  that  nothing  can  be  provided  that  will  bring 
the  doubter  out  of  the  unfortunate  condition  into 
which  he  has  fallen  than  a  faithful  presentation  of 
the  triumphs  and  sacrifices  of  missionaries.  Here 
is  the  apology  that  can  not  be  answered.  It  presents 
facts  that  throb  with  flesh  and  blood.  It  is  a  heart 
to  heart  talk  with  one  who  can  not  help  but  realize 
that  there  is  still  power  with  God  to  raise  up  men 
and  women  who  can  give  the  Gospel  to  those  who 
have  not  heard  it,  and  move  them  to  renounce  the 
world  and  the  flesh  and  the  devil.  A  careful  reading 
of  this  book  will  confirm  the  faith  of  those  who  are 
not  aflfected  by  doubts  and  fears,  and  will  lead  the 
wandering  spirit  of  the  doubter  to  the  fountain  of 
everlasting  life  and  healing. 

Conrad  Clever. 
Baltimore,  Md. 


BOOK  I. 


Great  Missionaries  of  the  Reformed 
Church 


EARLY  REFORMED   MISSIONS 


I 


N  the  great  work  of  saving  the  world,  the 
Reformed  Church  has  had  an  honorable 
part  and  it  ought  to  be  inspiration  to  our 
German  Reformed  to  learn  what  has  already  been 
done.  The  name  Reformed  is  larger  than  any  one 
nation  or  denomination.  By  famous  missionaries 
of  the  Reformed  Church  we  mean  missionaries  who 
under  the  Reformed  name  have  gone  forth  and 
preached  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  For  the  Re- 
formed, whether  Dutch,  German,  French,  Swiss  or 
American,  are  after  all  the  same.  The  glory  of  one 
is  the  glory  of  all.  Accordingly  this  subject  is  one 
of  great  interest  to  all  our  people.  The  Reformed 
missionaries  have  made  the  Reformed  name  known 
all  over  the  world.* 


*We  have  included  in  the  list  of  missionaries  some  who  were  not 
particularly  Reformed  in  their  confessional  learnings,  but  who  were 
Reformed  by  birth  or  by  association  with  some  Reformed  missionary 
society.  The  Reformed  Church  should  have  credit  for  these  latter, 
in  some  way,  as  well  as  for  the  former. 

5 


Chapter  I. 

THE  FIRST  REFORMED  MISSIONARIES 
TO  BRAZIL. 

The  first  Protestant  missionaries  were  mission- 
aries of  the  Reformed  Church.  Protestantism  was 
hardly  born  before  it  began  to  exert  itself  to  save 
the  heathen.  These  missionaries  were  sent  out  one 
year  before  the  Lutherans  sent  their  first  foreign 
missionaries  to  Lapland. 

The  first  missionary  field  was  this  new  world  of 
America.  To  this  continent  came  two  ministers  of 
the  Reformed  Church  of  Geneva  whose  names  de- 
serve to  be  embalmed  in  fame.  They  were  Peter 
Richer  and  William  Chartier.  Admiral  Coligny,  the 
great  statesman  of  the  French  Reformed,  fearing 
•tihe  persecutions  which  afterward  overtook  the 
Huguenots,  with  far-seeing  eye  looked  westward 
for  an  asylum  across  the  Atlantic.  Brazil  was  at 
that  time  attracting  notice  and  through  his  influ- 
ence a  colony  was  gathered.  But  though  this  ex- 
pedition was  announced  with  a  flourish  of  trum- 
pets, it  was  found  that  too  few  were  ready  to  go; 
so  the  jails  of  Paris  were  called  upon  to  complete 

7 


8  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  company.  This  motley  company,  some  of  them 
Kuguenots,  sailed  from  Havre  in  the  summer  of 
1555.  After  a  long  voyage  they  entered  the  bay  of 
Rio  Janeiro  on  the  tenth  of  November.  The  leader 
of  this  expedition  was  Villegagnon.  He  had  been 
Vice-Admiral  of  Brittany  and  the  one  who  in  1548 
had  brought  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  safely  to  France 
in  spite  of  the  watchfulness  of  the  English.  He  had 
become  a  Protestant  and  now  dreamt  of  founding 
a  great  French  colony  in  the  new  world.  Villegag- 
non selected  an  island  in  the  bay  of  Rio  Janeiro  as 
his  headquarters.  On  a  rock  near  the  centre  of  the 
island  he  built  a  rude  home  with  a  rough  church  on 
the  one  side  of  it,  and  a  rude  building  for  his  fol- 
lowers on  the  other.  He  fortified  the  island  with 
earthworks  as  he  feared  the  Portuguese  who  already 
had  planted  colonies  in  Brazil.  He  named  the  is- 
land Coligny,  and  the  whole  region  Antarctic 
France. 

On  the  fourth  of  February  one  of  his  ships  sailed 
for  France.  With  it  he  sent  a  messenger  to  Coligny 
asking  for  more  colonists  and  especially  for  Re- 
formed ministers  who  should  not  only  minister  to 
the  colonists  but  also  plant  this  new  faith  among 
the  Indians  of  the  new  world.    Two  ministers,  Peter 


The  Reformed  Church.  9 

Richer  and  William  Chartier,  were  appointed  by  the 
city  of  Geneva  to  go  to  Brazil.  They  were  accom- 
panied by  eleven  artisans  from  Geneva  who  were  led 
by  DuPont.  They  visited  Coligny  on  their  way 
through  France  where  they  were  joined  by  a  num- 
ber of  Huguenots,  This  new  expedition,  number- 
ing 300,  embarked  November  17,  1556,  in  three 
ships  from  Honfleur.  After  being  almost  ship- 
wrecked off  the  coast  of  Brazil  they  finally  arrived 
at  Rio  Janeiro  March  7,  1557.  As  they  entered  the 
harbor  they  were  full  of  joy  at  the  thought  of  plant- 
ing the  Reformed  faith  on  so  distant  a  coast.  First 
of  all  Protestants  they  were  to  feel  the  peculiar  joy 
that  comes  when  telling  the  story  of  Christ  for  the 
first  time  to  the  heathen. 

Villegagnon  welcomed  them  with  a  salute  from 
the  fort  and  with  every  demonstration  of  friendship. 
They  went  at  once  to  the  church  where  they  held  a 
thanksgiving  service.  They  sang  the  fifth  Psalm, 
after  which  Richer  preached  on  the  26th  Psalm. 
Villegagnon  ordered  that  there  should  be  a  daily 
service  with  a  sermon  of  not  over  an  hour  and  also 
two  sermons  on  Sunday.  On  the  21st  of  March  the 
two  ministers  administered  the  communion  after  the 
Reformed  mode.    This  was  the  first  Protestant  com- 


lo  Great  Missionaries  of 

munion  in  America,  a  forerunner  of  many  rich  spirit- 
ual feasts  of  the  thousands  of  Reformed  in  this 
western  world  in  later  centuries.  These  ministers 
soon  tried  to  come  into  contact  with  the  natives  of 
Brazil  so  as  to  bring  them  to  Christ.  Richer  wrote, 
a  few  weeks  after  his  arrival  in  Brazil,  that  "they 
proposed  winning  the  native  heathen  to  Christ,  but 
their  barbarism,  their  cannibalism,  their  spiritual 
dullness  extinguished  all  these  hopes."  Their  ignor- 
ance of  the  native  language  also  hindered  their 
work,  but  the  natives  understood  enough  from  their 
teachings  to  become  greatly  astonished  at  what  they 
heard.  Some  of  them  promised  to  become  worship- 
ers of  the  true  God,  but  the  stay  of  these  mission- 
aries at  Rio  Janeiro  was  too  short  to  produce  per- 
manent results. 

For  soon  troubles  began  to  arise  in  the  colony 
which  prepared  for  its  ultimate  destruction.  Among 
the  first  colonists  who  came  with  Villegagnon  was 
John  Cointat,  or  Hector,  a  former  student  of  the 
Catholic  Sorbonne  at  Paris.  He  claimed  that  he  had 
been  promised  episcopal  jurisdiction  over  the  colony. 
He,  however,  at  the  first  communion  answered  the 
questions  of  the  ministers ;  but  he  resented  this  ex- 
amination and  soon  called  Villegagnon's  attention 


The  Reformed  Church.  ii 

to  certain  rites  in  which  he  differed  from  these  min- 
isters. He  also  came  into  controversy  with  them  on 
such  doctrinal  points  as,  "Is  it  lawful  to  mix  water 
with  wine  at  the  Lord's  Supper?"  "May  the  sacra- 
mental bread  be  made  of  Indian  corn?"  etc.  He  re- 
quested that  unleavened  bread  should  be  used  at  the 
communion,  that  baptism  should  be  administered 
with  salt  and  oil  as  well  as  with  water,  and  that  the 
officiating  minister  should  wear  vestments.  The  min- 
isters stoutly  withstood  him.  As  Cointat  had  some 
learning  and  was  of  ready  speech  he  soon  interested 
Villegagnon  so  that  when  Richer  preached  against 
these  customs  Villegagnon  became  angry.  At  first 
he  forbade  Richer  to  preach,  but  afterwards  permit- 
ted him,  provided  he  would  not  speak  on  these  sub- 
jects in  dispute.  However,  he  did  not  allow  him  to 
administer  the  sacraments.  To  heal  the  controversy 
it  was  proposed  that  these  questions  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Reformed  Church  of  France  for  a  de- 
cision and  for  that  purpose  Chartier  sailed  for 
France. 

Meanwhile  Villegagnon  from  being  a  protector  of 
the  Reformed  was  changing  into  their  persecutor. 
No  sooner  had  the  vessel  sailed  than  he  declared  he 
would  submit  the  disputed  points  to  no  one  but  the 


12  Great  Missionaries  of 

Catholic  Sorbonne  for  a  decision.  The  truth  is  that 
through  the  influence  of  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine, 
Villegagnon  was  being  secretly  won  back  to  the 
Catholic  Church.  The  Cardinal  had  written  him  a 
letter  upbraiding  him  for  leaving  the  Catholic  faith. 
He  became  bolder  and  finally  openly  called  Calvin 
the  heretic.  At  last  he  demanded  that  Richer  sub- 
scribe to  the  mass,  the  purgatory  and  other  Romish 
doctrines.  Richer  refused.  Villegagnon  fearing 
an  insurrection  ordered  DuPont  and  the  Genevan 
party  to  leave  the  island  in  October  1557.  He  de- 
clared he  would  not  have  the  Protestants  on  the  is- 
land. But  whither  should  they  go?  In  all  the  new 
world  there  was  not  a  Protestant  colony  save  their 
own.  They  went  across  the  bay  to  the  mainland 
where  they  settled.  Here  the  inhabitants  kindly 
brought  food  to  them  and  they  returned  the  kind- 
ness by  trying  to  teach  them  the  Gospel. 

It,  however,  soon  became  evident  that  they  could 
not  live  there  very  long ;  yet  Villegagnon  refused  to 
permit  them  to  return  to  the  fort.  A  French  vessel 
happened  to  come  into  the  harbor  and  DuPont  tried 
to  arrange  that  they  should  be  taken  back  to  France. 
The  captain,  however,  refused  to  take  them  on  board 
without  Villegagnon's  permission.     This  Villegag- 


The  Reformed  Church.  13 

non  at  first  refused.  But  when  DePont  declared 
that  they  would  go  without  it  he  reluctantly  granted 
permission  on  one  condition,  namely,  that  they  would 
take  on  board  a  closed  chest.  With  a  baseness  sel- 
dom paralleled  he  placed  in  this  chest  a  paper  which 
contained  certain  charges  against  them.  The  chest 
was  to  be  presented  to  the  first  judge  in  France, 
with  whom  they  would  come  in  contact ;  and  this 
paper  asked  him  to  seize  them  as  heretics  and  pun- 
ish them  with  flames.  Ignorant  of  this  perfidy, 
they  sailed  on  January  4,  1558,  after  a  stay  in  Brazil 
of  about  ten  months.  They  soon  discovered  that 
they  had  exchanged  a  wretched  existence  on  land 
for  a  more  wretched  one  on  the  sea.  The  vessel  was 
slow  and  old.  When  she  was  out  about  seven  days 
she  sprang  a  leak.  She  seemed  to  be  sinking  so  rap- 
idly that  it  appeared  as  though  nothing  was  before 
them  but  a  grave  in  the  ocean.  Fortunately  the 
sailors  succeeded  in  stopping  the  principal  leak,  but 
the  carpenter  stated  that  the  vessel  was  so  old  and 
worm-eaten  as  not  to  be  fit  for  so  long  a  voyage  with 
so  large  a  cargo.  The  captain  being  afraid  that 
the  crew  wovild  all  leave  him  if  he  landed  refused 
to  turn  back.  He,  however,  offered  a  boat  to  any 
who  wished  to  return  to  America  then  from  ten  to 


14  Great  Missionaries  of 

twenty  leagues  distant.    He  was  more  willing  to  do 
this  as  they  were  short  of  provisions. 

Five  of  their  number  accepted  this  offer  and  went 
back  to  Brazil  to  be  the  first  Protestants  to  suffer 
for  their  faith  in  foreign  lands.  They  floated  for 
four  days  using  their  clothes  for  sails.  A  severe 
storm  threw  them  on  the  sixth  day  on  the  shore  at 
the  foot  of  a  great  mountain.  They  then  proceeded 
to  Riviere  des  Vases  where  the  natives  kindly  cared 
for  them.  After  a  four  days'  rest  they  travelled  four 
days  and  arrived  at  Villegagnon's  settlement.  They 
begged  him  to  receive  them,  notwithstanding  their 
differences  of  faith.  At  first  he  received  them  kindly, 
but  he  soon  became  suspicious  that  they  were  spies 
sent  by  DuPont,  who  would  later  return  and  attack 
the  settlement.  He  then  ordered  them  to  sign  a 
Romish  confession  of  faith  within  12  hours.  This 
they  refused  to  do.  They  ordered  Bortel,  the  older 
and  best  educated  among  them,  to  draw  up  a  confes- 
sion of  faith  in  reply  to  it,  which  they  signed.  From 
this  Villegagnon  decided  that  they  were  heretics  and 
then  arrested  Bortel,  and  when  he  refused  to  recant, 
he  brutally  struck  him  with  his  fist  and  ordered  him 
to  be  hurled  from  a  high  rock  on  the  island  into  the 
sea.    Another,  Vermiel,  was  led  to  the  same  rock, 


The  Reformed  Church.  15 

and  when  he  refused  to  recant,  he,  too,  was  thrown 
over  into  the  sea.  Bourdon,  the  third,  was  sick  in 
bed,  but  Villegagnon  had  him  bound  and  carried  in 
a  boat  to  this  rock  of  execution  and  from  it  cast  into 
the  sea.  "Thus,"  says  Kalkar,  the  Danish  Lutheran 
historian  of  missions,  "was  the  first  blood  shed  as  a 
witness  for  EvangeHcal  missions."  The  Reformed 
Church  as  it  had  the  honor  of  sending  the  first  mis- 
sionaries to  the  heathen,  had  also  the  honor  of  hav- 
ing the  first  martyrs  for  missions. 

One  of  the  five  who  returned  from  the  ship  was 
John  Boles,  a  man  of  education  and  ability,  about 
whom  the  Jesuit  annals  themselves  revealed  a 
strange  tale.  He  was  learned  in  both  Hebrew  and 
Greek.  Having  escaped  from  Villegagnon  he  went 
to  St.  Vincente,  300  miles  southward  (near  the  pres- 
ent Santos),  where  the  Jesuits  were  laboring 
among  the  Indians.  He  preached  to  the  Indians 
with  such  eloquence  that  there  was  danger  of  their 
becoming  Protestants.  The  Jesuits  became  alarm- 
ed and  being  unable  to  answer  his  arguments,  had 
him  arrested  together  with  several  of  his  converts. 
He  was  taken  to  Bahia  where  he  was  imprisoned  for 
eight  years.  When  the  Portuguese  expelled  the 
French  from  Bahia  in  1567,  the    government    had 


i6  Great  Missionaries  of 

Boles  put  to  death  on  the  site  of  the  present  Rio 
Janeiro.  The  Jesuits  boasted  that  Anchieta,  their 
great  apostle  in  Brazil,  won  him  back  to  Catholicism 
on  the  eve  of  his  execution,  and  then  showed  them 
how  to  dispatch  a  heretic  as  quickly  as  possible  by 
having  him  put  to  death.  The  story  of  his  recanta- 
tion is  very  doubtful,  but  evidently  this  colony  of 
Villegagnon's  left  some  such  Protestant  influence 
behind  it  in  South  America  or  the  Jesuit  records 
would  not  so  strangely  confess  it. 

In  the  meantime  those  who  remained  on  the  ves- 
sel, which  these  five  had  left,  seemed  doomed  to  a 
living  death.  A  hundred  times  a  day  it  seemed  as 
if  the  ship  would  be  swallowed  up  by  the  waves. 
The  crew  were  kept  at  the  pumps  night  and  day 
and  still  were  hardly  able  to  keep  the  water  down. 
One  day  as  the  carpenter  was  mending  the  ship  a 
plank  gave  way.  In  a  moment  the  sea  came  rush- 
ing in  with  the  force  of  a  torrent.  The  sailors 
rushed  to  the  deck  crying  "We  are  lost."  The  car- 
penter, however,  retained  presence  of  mind  enough 
to  thrust  his  coat  into  the  hole  and  by  treading  on  it 
with  all  his  might  he  resisted  the  force  of  the  water. 
He  soon  received  help  which  enabled  him  to  keep 
the  hole  shut  till  he  had  prepared  a  board  to  close 


The  Reformed  Church,  17 

it.  At  another  time  when  the  powder  was  drying 
some  of  it  caught  fire.  The  flames  quickly  ran  from 
one  end  of  the  ship  to  the  other  and  set  the  sails  and 
cordage  on  fire.  Four  men  were  burned  before  it 
was  put  out,  one  of  them  dying.  Then  to  their  hor- 
rors was  added  starvation.  They  had  with  them  a 
number  of  parrots  and  monkeys  which  they  were 
taking  home  as  curiosities.  These  were  soon  eaten. 
Rats  and  mice  were  hunted  for  and  eaten.  Even  the 
sweepings  of  the  store-room,  were  gathered  and 
cooked  into  a  sort  of  pottage  and  though  it  was 
black  and  bitter  they  were  glad  to  eat  it.  Those  who 
had  bucklers  made  of  the  skin  of  the  tapiroussa,  an 
animal  of  Brazil,  cut  the  skin  into  pieces  and  de- 
voured it.  Others  would  chew  the  covers  of  their 
trunks  and  the  leather  of  their  shoes — yes,  even  the 
horns  of  the  ship  lanterns.  They  became  so  starved 
that  they  would  have  been  glad  to  have  lived  on 
grass,  like  Nebuchadnezzar,  had  they  been  able  to  get 
it.  Finally  nothing  was  left  them  but  Brazil-wood, 
said  to  be  the  dryest  of  all  woods.  One  day  Peter 
Corquilleray  when  putting  a  piece  of  Brazil-wood 
into  his  mouth  said  to  Lery  (who  wrote  the  chron- 
icle of  this  journey)  "Gladly  would  I  give  the  four 
thousand  louvres  due  me  in  France  for  a  glass  of 


1 8  Great  Missionaries  of 

wine  and  a  pennyworth  of  bread."  Peter  Richer 
the  Reformed  minister  was  so  prostrated  by 
hunger  that  he  could  not  Hft  up  his  head  even  in 
prayer,  although  he  was  almost  constantly  in  prayer. 
Indeed,  owing  to  the  intensity  of  the  sufferings  it  is 
wonderful  that  they  did  not  select  some  one  to  be 
killed  in  order  to  satisfy  the  hunger  of  all. 

Finally  after  a  voyage  of  five  months  the  pilot 
declared  he  saw  land.  This  was  very  fortunate  for 
the  captain  said  that  he  had  determined  on  the  next 
day  to  draw  lots  that  one  might  be  killed  for  food. 
They  finally  landed  on  the  coast  of  Brittany  in 
France,  near  L'Orient,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Blavet 
river,  on  May  26,  1558.  The  inhabitants,  touched 
with  the  story  of  their  sufferings,  kindly  gave  them 
the  food  and  sustenance  they  needed.  Many  of  the 
sailors,  however,  neglected  the  precautions  neces- 
sary for  starved  men,  and  ate  so  heartily  that  they 
died.  Others  recovered  but  were  afflicted  for  a  long 
time  with  various  diseases — blindness,  swellings  of 
the  body,  etc. 

And  now  appeared  the  providence  of  God.  In 
the  sealed  box  was  the  order  of  Villegagnon  to  the 
governor  of  the  province  in  which  they  landed  to 
put  them  to  death  as  heretics.    The  box  was  given 


The  Reformed  Church.  19 

by  them,  all  ignorant  of  its  contents,  to  the  judge  of 
that  district ;  but  by  a  favoring  providence  they  were 
cast  ashore  in  a  part  of  France  where  the  judge  hap- 
pened to  be  favorable  to  the  Protestants.  Instead 
of  executing  the  treacherous  orders  of  Villegagnon 
he  ignored  them  and  treated  the  returning  colonists 
with  great  kindness.  Soon  after,  in  1560,  Villegag- 
non's  colony  in  Brazil  was  captured  by  the  Portu- 
guese, when  he  returned  to  France  where  he  tried 
to  clear  himself  of  his  cruelty  and  perfidy  which 
had  now  become  known  to  all  the  world.  A  witness 
to  the  existence  of  the  colony  is  still  found  in  the 
harbor  of  Rio  Janeiro  in  one  of  its  islands  which  is 
named  Villegagnon  after  him.* 

Such  were  the  first  efforts  to  send  missionaries  to 
the  heathen,  but  this  early  though  ill-fated  eflfort 
proved  that  the  Reformed  were  the  first  who  had 
the  desire  to  send  foreign  missionaries  and  also  the 
first  to  have  been  martyrs  for  their  faith  in  foreign 
lands.    They  thus  attempted  to  lay  the  basis  of  what 


*Six  years  later  Coligny  tried  a  second  colony  under  Ribaut  who 
aimed  to  found  a  western  asylum  at  Charles-fort,  and  Carolina  in 
Florida,  but  this  was  soon  destroyed  by  the  Spaniards  who  then 
founded  St.  Augustine.  No  direct  missionary  work,  however,  was 
done  among  the  natives.  Still  it  is  a  very  interesting  bit  of  Re- 
formed history  in  the  new  world.  An  interesting  novel  (based  on 
Parkham's  histories)  entitled  "St.  Augustine,"  by  Musick,  describes 
this  colony. 

3 


20  Great  Missionaries  of 

has  become  the  greatest  movement  of  the  Protestant 
Church — foreign  missions.  The  bay  of  Rio  Janeiro 
is  said  to  be  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world, 
but  is  not  so  beautiful  as  the  crown  of  immortal 
glory  that  should  belong  to  Richer  and  his  co- 
laborers  for  starting  a  movement  which  has  culmi- 
nated in  the  splendid  foreign  missionary  work  of  the 
Church  at  the  present  time. 


Chapter  II. 

THE  DUTCH  REFORMED  SEMINARY  UN- 
DER WALAEUS  AT  LEYDEN. 

The  Reformed,  as  they  were  the  first  to  attempt 
the  evangeHzation  of  the  heathen,  were  also  the 
first  to  found  a  Seminary  for  the  training  of  mis- 
sionaries to  the  heathen.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
the  Reformed  Church  of  the  Netherlands  was  fore- 
most in  missions.  In  its  day  it  equalled  the  British 
and  American  Missionary  Societies  together  as  they 
existed  early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  its  aim  being 
to  open  up  missionary  work  both  in  the  Eastern  and 
Western  hemispheres. 

In  1596  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  was  or- 
ganized for  the  purpose  of  carrying  Dutch  com- 
merce to  the  East  Indies.  But  they  did  not  forget 
religion.  Very  early  in  its  history  chaplains  to  the 
Europeans  were  appointed,  many  of  whom  became 
missionaries  among  the  heathen  as  well  as  chap- 
lains.* 


•The  first  minister  ever  ordained  by  the  Protestants  especially  for 
its  foreign  missions  was  Casper  Wiltens  who  went  to  Amboyna  in 
1615  laboring  there  till  1623.  Even  before  him  Philip  Peterson  had 
gone  as  the  first  chaplain  to  the  East  Indies  in  1598  with  the  Dutch 
fleet.  He  went  to  Mauritius,  preached  Christ  there,  and  baptized  a 
slave  of  Madagascar.  The  first  minister  who  was  pastor  of  a  con- 
gregation of  converted  Malays  was  Dubbeldryk,  whose  services  in 
Malay  were  begun  August  3,   1620. 

31 


22  Great  Missionaries  of 

But  where  were  they  to  get  ministers  who  would 
go  into  their  far-away  possessions?  Who  would 
brave  the  awful  dangers  of  the  seas  from  ship- 
wreck and  pirates  and  the  equal  dangers  of  the  land 
from  fever  and  savages?  Feeling  this  want  they 
asked  the  classes  of  Holland  for  advice.  At  first 
it  seemed  to  them  it  would  be  sufficient  were  they  to 
aid  some  young  men  to  enter  the  ministry.  /In  1603 
they  determined  to  seek  for  two  ministers  to  preach 
in  India.  In  1605  they  determined  to  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  four  students,  if  they  could  be  found,  but 
no  one  applied  until  the  next  year.  It  was  very 
evident  that  matters  could  not  continue  in  that  way 
or  they  would  get  no  ministers  for  their  colonies. 
Different  plans  were  suggested  to  supply  the  need. 
In  1610  a  few  capable  men,  pupils  of  Prof.  Walaeus, 
the  professor  of  theology  at  Leyden,  were  approach- 
ed but  they  were  too  few.  Finally  the  classis  of 
Delft  gave  it  as  its  opinion  (1614)  that  the  only  way 
to  supply  the  need  would  be  by  founding  a  Mission- 
ary Seminary  for  the  express  training  of  mission- 
aries. It  suggested  that  it  be  founded  at  Lej^den 
at  first  and  then  transferred  to  the  Indies — a  very 
far-sighted  opinion.  The  first  part  of  it  was  soon 
carried  out,  the  last  part  not  till  over  three  centuries 


The  Reformed  Church.  23 

had  elapsed  when  Kam  founded  a  Seminary  in  Am- 
boyna  and  later  a  seminary  was  founded  at  Depok, 
Java,  by  the  Rhenish  Society. 

But   still  the   Dutch   moved  forward   with  their 
proverbial  slowness  before  doing  anything.     It  re- 
quired certain  events  to  bring  matters  to  a  crisis. 
One  was  that  the  Governor  of  the  East  Indies  sent 
home  complaints  of  the  fewness  of  ministers.    Then 
finally  the  East  India  Company  concluded  to  found 
a  Missionary  Seminary  at  Leyden  and  the  Theolog- 
ical Faculty  at  Leyden  was  asked  to  arrange  for  its 
establishment.      The    University    proposed    a    plan 
drawn  up  by  Walaeus,  who  all  along  had  been  the 
moving  spirit  in  missions.      This   plan  gave,  first, 
the  reasons  for  the  founding  of  such  a  seminary, 
and,  second,  a  description  of  it.  In  the  first,  emphasis 
was  laid  on  the  choice  of  candidates,  in  the  second, 
on  their  training.    As  to  the  first  the  candidate  must 
be  of  age,  have  a  certificate  from  his  classis  or  con- 
sistory or  from  several  reliable  persons,  and  must 
undergo  a  year  of  probation  before  being  fully  re- 
ceived.    For  training  he  was  to  be  placed  in  the 
house  of  the  Regent,  he  was  to  practice  self-control, 
fasting,  prayer,  visitation  of  the  sick  and  do  the 
work  of  a  sick-comforter,  an  office  common  in  the 


24  Great  Missionaries  of 

Dutch  Church.  All  these  would  prepare  him  for 
work  among  the  heathen.  Besides  their  ordinary 
studies  the  students  were  to  be  careful  to  gain  a 
knowledge  of  the  Jewish,  Mohammedan  and 
heathen  religions  so  as  to  be  able  to  meet  these 
enemies  in  the  colonies.  They  were  also  to  study 
the  Malay  language  so  as  to  be  able  to  speak  to  the 
natives.  This  broad,  full  plan  satisfied  the  Directors 
of  the  East  India  Company  and  on  April  i,  1622,  it 
was  decided  to  found  such  a  Missionary  Seminary. 
They  approached  Prof.  Walaeus  to  act  as  Regent. 
At  the  urgent  request  of  the  two  curators  and  of 
the  theological  faculty  he  accepted.  He  had  hesi- 
tated at  first,  because  of  the  additional  care  and 
responsibility  it  would  place  on  his  household  to  re- 
ceive and  care  for  so  many  young  men.  But  the 
Directors  met  this  point  by  requiring  the  students, 
together  with  an  elderly  woman,  to  take  care  of 
their  own  rooms  and  laundry,  thus  relieving  Mrs. 
Walaeus.  They  were  also  to  be  supplied  with  a 
nurse  in  case  of  sickness  so  that  she  would  have  no 
care.  To  relieve  Walaeus  of  discipline  as  much  as 
possible  the  students  were  admonished  not  to  feast, 
swear,  quarrel,  visit  tennis  courts,  or  hotels,  etc. 
They  were  also  to  put  out  the  lights  at  10  p.  m.,  and 


The  Reformed  Church.  25 

go  to  bed.  If  visiting  friends  they  were  to  return 
before  9  p.  m. 

All  smoking  was  forbidden.  This  last  may  seem  to 
us  a  strange  rule  for  a  nation  so  given  to  smoking 
as  the  Dutch.  But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  to- 
bacco smoking  was  brought  into  Europe  in  the  17th 
century  and  had  not  yet  become  common ;  indeed 
was  outlawed  as  yet  by  good  Christian  society  which 
then  placed  the  debauchee,  drunkard  and  smoker  on 
the  same  level,  and  it  was  tabooed  by  the  careful 
Dutch  housewife  who  would  not  allow  the  "villain- 
ous stink  and  brimstone"  in  her  clean  ornamental 
dwelling.  The  student  was  also  forbidden  to  engage 
himself  in  marriage.  All  these  things  the  student  had 
to  bind  himself  to  on  entering  the  seminary.  If  he 
continued  in  any  breaches  of  these  rules  he  was  ex- 
pelled. 

But  Walaeus  was  as  anxious  for  the  spiritual  de- 
velopment of  the  students  as  of  the  moral.  They 
were  to  regularly  attend  the  church  services  on  Sun- 
day and  on  weekdays  when  possible.  Besides  pri- 
vate devotion,  they  were  to  have  a  prayermeeting 
together  every  morning  and  evening.  We  thus  see 
how  carefully  the  plan  of  this  seminary  was  arrang- 
ed for  the  proper  preparation  of  the  students  for 
their  work. 


26  Great  Missionaries  of 

The  Seminary  was  founded  in  1622,  the  very 
same  year  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  opened  the 
great  missionary  institution  of  Rome,  "The  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  Faith."  How  magnificent 
and  splendid  that,  how  weak  and  insignificant  this, 
and  yet  by  the  twentieth  century  the  movement  set 
on  foot  by  the  latter  had  outstripped  the  Romish 
Propaganda,  as  Protestant  Missions  outstripped  the 
Catholic  in  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  true  that 
the  missionary  seminary  at  Leyden  continued  in  ex- 
istence but  ten  years,  but  it  gave  a  beginning  to 
Protestant  Missions  and  an  impulse  that  it  never 
lost.  It  laid  the  foundation.  From  that  time  to  this, 
the  Protestant  Church,  even  in  the  days  of  the 
greatest  rationalism  or  deadest  orthodoxy,  has  not 
been  without  its  missionary  among  the  heathen,  a 
fact  not  true  of  Protestantism  before ;  for  nearly 
three  quarters  of  a  century  had  elapsed  since  the 
first  Protestant  Missionaries  had  gone  to  Brazil. 
There  is  an  apostolic  succession  in  foreign  missions 
more  real  than  that  which  comes  from  the  Bishop's 
touch.  From  this  school  there  came  the  Dutch 
Missions  of  the  seventeenth  century,  followed  in  the 
eighteenth  century  by  the  Lutheran  and  Moravian 
Missions,  and  in  Britain  by  Angelican  and  Dissenter, 


The  Reformed  Church.  27 

to  be  followed  in  the  nineteenth  century  by  a  mag- 
nificent advance  all  along  the  line  of  denominations 
until  they  present  a  solid  front  of  missionary  ad- 
vance in  the  twentieth  century.  Before  this  seminary 
was  founded  there  had  been  a  breach  in  Protestant 
missions  among  the  heathen  of  over  a  half  century, 
but  since  its  founding  there  has  been  no  break.  The 
seminary  lapsed  but  the  holy  fire  it  started  is  still 
burning  brighter  to-day  than  ever  and  shining 
brighter  and  brighter  like  the  ascending  sun,  while 
Romish  Propaganda  is  declining  like  the  waning 
moon. 

In  ten  years  of  its  existence,  this  seminary  sent 
forth  (as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  gain  information 
from  the  meagre  sources)  about  a  dozen  pupils,  al- 
though the  list  is  not  complete.  Jacob  Vertrecht  of 
Leyden  matriculated  September  22,  1625,  and  later 
went  to  Amboyna.  Nicholas  Molinaeus  of  Leyden 
was  stationed  in  the  Coromandel  coast,  India,  in 
1628.  John  Cavallarius,  from  Zeeland,  one  of  the 
first  pupils,  like  Molinaeus,  died  soon  after  entering 
upon  his  work  in  the  East  Indies.  Michael  Clarenbeek 
and  William  Holtenus  labored  in  the  Banda  Islands. 
Abraham  De  Roy,  or  Roger,  of  Leyden,  labored  in 
Paliacate,  and  Robert  Junius  at  Formosa.     A  list 


28  Great  Missionaries  of 

of  other  students  as  living  in  Walaeus's  family  is 
given  as  Jacob  Tollens,  of  Bremen,  John  Cauelier, 
of  Middlebush.  George  Candidius  is  also  spoken  of 
by  De  Roy,  as  also  one  Samuel  Carlier  (1629)  of 
Middleburg,  Anthony  Van  der  Hagen,  of  Utrecht, 
(1629),  the  latter  laboring  in  the  East  Indies.  Some 
of  these  were  found  on  the  register  of  the  Leyden 
University,  but  some  evidently  were  special  stu- 
dents under  Walaeus'  supervision.  It  is  difficult  to 
get  at  them  exactly.  Of  those  mentioned  Robert 
Junius,  the  missionary  to  Formosa,  was  the  most 
prominent  and  also  George  Candidius.  Of  the  rest 
Molinaeus,  one  of  the  early  pupils,  did  good  work 
on  the  Cormandel  coast  where  he  preached  in  Por- 
tuguese and  taught  the  Malays  the  fundamental 
truths  of  Christianity.  Jacob  Vertrecht's  life  is  per- 
haps the  fullest  given.  He  left  Holland  in  1632  for 
Amboyna.  He  preached  to  the  heathen  in  the  Malay 
as  easier  for  himself  to  speak  and  the  natives  to  un- 
derstand than  the  Amboyna  language.  In  1635  he 
had  sixty-five  converts  of  whom  two  were  elders 
and  two  deacons.  In  the  villages  he  had  schools 
with  more  than  sixty  children  whom  he  taught  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the 
twelve  articles  of  faith.    Every  evening  in  each  vil- 


The  Reformed  Church.  29 

lage  evening-prayer  was  held,  led  by  the  teacher. 
He  drew  up  a  small  catechism  for  them.  He  founded 
a  school  of  ten  boys  for  instruction  in  theology  so 
that  they  might  be  able  to  teach  others.  He  preached 
in  Amboyna,  Banda  and  Formosa. 

But  after  being  in  existence  for  ten  years  this 
Missionary  School  at  Leyden  was  given  up.  Why? 
The  reason  given  by  the  East  India  Company  was 
that  by  that  time  sufficient  ministers  could  be  found 
in  Holland  for  their  possessions  and  therefore  such 
a  school  was  unnecessary.  But  reading  between 
the  lines,  there  were  doubtless  other  reasons  which 
affected  the  Company.  Some  friction  developed  be- 
tween the  missionaries  and  the  Company.  The  mis- 
sionaries were  earnest  men.  Walaeus  had  filled  them 
with  his  own  heart-earnestness  for  the  salvation  of 
the  heathen.  When  the  missionaries  arrived  in  the 
colonies  they  were  first  of  all  disgusted  by  the  im- 
moralities of  the  Europeans  there.  When  they  were 
bold  in  preaching  against  gross  sins,  the  govern- 
ment officials  (some  of  them  guilty)  opposed  them. 
H  they  urged  any  reforms  the  government  stood  in 
the  way.  As  a  result  some  of  the  missionaries  be- 
came angry  at  the  opposition  they  experienced  and 
wanted  to  return  home. 


30  Great  Missionaries  of 

The  government  would  also  sometimes  interfere 
I  with  the  rights  of  the  ministers.  Thus  in  1632  Clar- 
enbeek  and  Holtenus  were  laboring  with  much 
success  in  the  Banda  Islands  when  the  governor  re- 
ceived orders  from  his  superiors  always  to  send 
two  representatives  to  the  church  gatherings  and  to 
demand  that  they  should  place  in  his  hands  all  letters 
addressed  to  Batavia.  When  the  consistories  ob- 
jected to  this,  they  were  forbidden  to  meet.  This 
I  act  undermined  the  influence  of  the  missionaries 
and  caused  such  a  disturbance  that  they  wanted  to 
return.  Vertrecht  also  came  into  collision  with  the 
governor  who  suspended  him  illegally  (1636)  but 
the  consistory  of  Batavia  restored  him.  The  greatest 
]  controversy  was  about  the  independence  of  the  con- 
gregations, the  Company  assuming  unwarranted  au- 
thority over  them  contrary  to  the  customs  of  the 
Dutch  Church  at  home.  Another  difficulty  was 
caused  by  the  Company  urging  laxity  of  discipline 
and  thus  discouraging  the  ministers. 

The  truth  was  that  this  seminary  of  Walaeus 
developed  its  pupils  into  a  high  spiritual  state,  far 
above  the  wishes  of  the  Company;  their  earnest 
piety  was  too  great  for  the  worldly  money-loving 
officials  of  the  Company.     Their  zeal,  too,  for  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  31 

salvation  of  the  heathen  resulted  in  successes  more 
than  the  Company  had  expected  or  desired.  But 
all  this  is  only  the  greater  tribute  to  Walaeus'  piety 
and  zeal  (the  influence  of  his  personal  piety  must 
have  been  very  great)  and  to  the  spiritual  tone  and 
education  of  this  seminary.  When  the  seminary  was 
discontinued  the  Company  gave  Walaeus  a  gilded 
cup  as  a  token  of  their  appreciation  of  his  work, 
but  he  has  richer  mead  in  the  stars  of  his  crown  in 
heaven  and  in  the  lasting  impulse  given  to  missions 
by  his  seminary  here. 


Chapter  III. 

THE  DUTCH  REFORMED  MISSIONARIES 
IN  BRAZIL. 

Nearly  a  century  passed  away  after  the  French 
Reformed  mission  in  Brazil  had  been  broken  up  by 
the  Jesuits  who  aimed  to  make  America  only  a 
Catholic  land.  In  1621  the  Dutch  West  India  Com- 
pany was  incorporated  and  planted  a  colony  at  Per- 
nambuco,  the  most  eastern  point  of  Brazil,  twelve 
hundred  miles  north  of  Rio  Janeiro.  Its  governor 
was  one  of  the  greatest  generals  in  Holland,  Count 
John  Maurice,  of  Nassau-Siegen,  "the  honor  of  his 
age,  the  ornament  of  his  house." 

He  was  a  German  by  birth,  but  like  the  princes 
of  the  family  of  Nassau,  he  had  entered  the  Dutch 
service.  He  was  an  ardent  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  He  sailed  from  Holland  October  25,  1636, 
accompanied  by  the  prayers  of  the  Dutch  Christians 
that  his  company  might  save  many  from  Romanism 
and  from  heathenism.  He  landed  at  Pernambuco 
January  23,  1637.  As  a  wise  governor  he  soon  felt 
the  need  of  increasing  religious  influence.  He  set 
a  worthy  example  by  regular  attendance  at  church 
where  he  enjoyed  the  preaching  of  his  learned  court 

S3 


34  Great  Missionaries  of 

preacher,  Francis  Plante.  Still  true  to  his  Dutch 
principles  of  religious  liberty  he  did  not  persecute 
the  Catholics.  He  soon  felt  the  need  of  ministers 
and  urgently  requested  the  West  India  Company 
to  send  more  ministers  from  Holland  who  should 
also  act  as  missionaries  to  the  natives.  In  1637 
eight  ministers  were  sent.  They  evangelized  in 
Dutch,  French,  Portuguese  and  English.  Soller  and 
Polhemius  preached  at  Olinda ;  Poelius  at  Tama- 
rica ;  Rathelarius  (an  Englishman)  at  Parahiba; 
in  the  province  of  St.  Augustine,  Stetinus  pro- 
claimed the  gospel,  as  did  Eduardi,  at  Serihaen.  In 
the  province  of  Maragnana  the  Gospel  was  also 
preached.  These  missionaries  seemed  to  have  had 
the  true  missionary  spirit. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  these  men  already  in  the 
infancy  of  Protestant  missions  used  one  of  its  first 
principles,  namely,  preaching  the  gospel  in  the  na- 
tive tongue.  In  their  efforts  to  evangelize  they  were 
ably  supported  by  Count  John  Maurice  and  his 
court  preacher.  They  found  that  the  Jesuits  had 
done  very  superficial  work.  The  great  difference 
between  the  Protestants  and  Catholics  is  that  the 
Protestants  give  the  natives  the  Bible  while  the 
Catholics  do  not.     All  the  Jesuits  did  was  to  teach 


The  Reformed  Church.  35 

the  natives  to  recite  the  Creed  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  The  Dutch  ministers  aimed  at  higher  re- 
sults. They  learned  their  language  so  as  to  preach 
to  them.  Davilus  was  the  first  to  do  this.  Dori- 
flarius  was  eloquent  in  both  the  Portuguese  and 
Brazilian,  and  translated  the  Catechism  into  the 
Tapuya  dialect — the  first  Protestant  catechism  in 
the  language  of  the  Indians. 

This  colony  was  also  noted  for  its  fair  dealings 
with  the  Indians.  Long  before  William  Penn, 
Count  John  Maurice  introduced  it  into  Brazil.  He 
placed  a  Dutchman  in  each  village  who  protected 
the  natives  so  that  they  were  not  cheated  by  the 
whites  but  were  paid  for  their  goods.  The  natives 
so  highly  honored  the  Count  that  one  of  their  chiefs 
presented  him  with  a  costly  dish  which  he  later  pre- 
sented to  the  Reformed  Church  at  Siegen,  Germany. 
In  1645  he  returned  to  Holland  bringing  not  less 
than  twenty-five  tons  of  gold  with  him  and  was  re- 
ceived with  high  honors  there.  The  Portuguese  soon 
after  destroyed  the  Dutch  colony,  but  the  Dutch, 
though  driven  out  of  Brazil,  later  acquired  Dutch 
Guiana  in  South  America.* 

Thus,    although    the    Reformed    Church    was 


*There  are  now  about   7,000   Reformed  in  Guiana. 

4 


36  Great  Missionaries  of 

crushed  out  of  Brazil,  yet  in  these  two  colonies, 
French  and  Dutch,  she  could  boast  the  first  Protes- 
tant missionaries;  the  first  missionary  martyrs;  the 
first  Indian  Catechism;  the  first  Protestant  Church 
organization  in  America  in  classis  and  synods  and 
the  first  attempt  at  fair  dealing  with  the  Indians. 


\    'J   Qeiiiiurn  jr./tilce  C/ormofce  I 


'"MU 


j^*^'  ^-^J; 


f!5'," 


REV.  ROBERT  JUNIUS. 


Chapter  IV. 

THE  DUTCH  REFORMED  MISSION  IN 
FORMOSA. 

THE  CRUCIFIXION   OF  THE  REFORMED. 

The  Reformed  Church  of  Holland  did  a  great  work 
for  missions  in  the  seventeenth  century  which  is  un- 
known to  English  readers,  yet  of  great  interest  to 
every  member  of  the  Reformed  Church.  One  of  her 
most  successful  missions  was  on  the  island  of  For- 
mosa, southeast  of  China.* 

In  1624  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  began 
trading  with  Formosa.  The  Dutch  in  their  zeal  for 
the  spread  of  Christ's  kingdom,  sent  the  missionary 
along  with  the  merchant.  Two  Scripture  readers 
(more  literally  Sick-Comforters)  were  first  sent. 
One  of  them  soon  returned  but  the  other,  Dirk 
Lauwrenzoon,  continued  the  work  till  May,  1626. 
The  first  minister  who  arrived  there  was  George 
Candidius  who  landed  May  4,  1627.  He  at  once  be- 
gan very  zealously  to  learn  their  language  so  as  to 
preach  to   them.      In   his  letter  written   December, 


*An  early  record  of  this  work  has  come  down  to  us  written  by  the 
faithful  missionary,  Rev.  Robert  Junius,  which  was  translated  into 
English  and  printed  in  London  in  1650.  It  was  recently  reprinted 
and  it  is  entitled  "Missionary  Success  in  Formosa,"  by  Campbell, 
published  by   Trubner,  London,  two  volumes. 

37 


38  Great  Missionaries  of 

1628,  he  says :  "I  have  used  great  diligence  to  learn 
the  language  of  the  people  and  to  instruct  them  in 
the  Christian  faith  and  have  succeeded  so  far  that  a 
fortnight  before  Christmas  of  the  present  year  there 
were  128  persons  who  knew  the  Lord's  Prayer  and 
were  able  to  explain  in  the  most  satisfactory  man- 
ner the  principal  articles  of  the  Christian  faith  but 
who  for  certain  reasons  have  not  yet  been  baptized. 

After  Candidius  had  been  there  two  years,  Rev. 
Robert  Junius  arrived.  He  preached  for  two  years 
in  Dutch,  but  being  moved  by  a  great  desire  for  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen,  he  with  great  difficulty, 
learned  their  rude  language.  His  success  was  as- 
tonishing. Men  of  all  ranks  and  conditions  were 
converted.  Fifty  natives  were  trained  to  teach,  who 
had  six  hundred  scholars.  Churches  were  planted  in 
twenty-three  towns.  The  Dutch  Missionaries  took 
pains  to  furnish  them  with  suitable  catechisms. 
Scripture  translations,  etc.  The  headquarters  of  the 
mission  was  at  Sakan.* 

In  163 1  Mr.  Candidius  was  called  away  to  go  to 
Batavia,  in  Java.  His  heart,  however,  was  in  the 
mission  work  at  Formosa  and  he  returned  again  two 

•Sakan    has    since    developed    into    the    large     Chinese    city    of 
Taiwanfoo. 


The  Reformed  Church.  39 

years  later.  The  Lord  so  greatly  blessed  the  mis- 
sionary labors  for  two  years  that  by  1635  they  had 
received  seven  hundred  adults  into  the  Church.  So 
hopeful  was  the  outlook  that  they  reported  to  the 
Dutch  Governor  in  1636  that  at  least  fifteen  addi- 
tional ministers  would  be  needed  to  take  possession 
of  the  fields  that  were  opening  up  to  them. 

But  in  1637  Mr.  Junius  was  left  alone  as  Mr. 
Candidius  returned  to  Holland,  after  having  labored 
in  Formosa  for  ten  years.  Yet  he  writes  encourag- 
ingly in  a  letter  dated  October  23,  1640.  He  says: 
"A  few  days  ago  we  visited  five  villages,  where  we 
preached  and  baptized  many  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
had  been  under  instruction  for  some  time.  I  found 
them  to  be  very  zealous,  coming  regularly,  morning 
and  evening  to  the  house  of  the  schoolmasters,  to 
be  instructed  until  they  were  able  to  repeat  fluently 
the  prayers,  etc.  The  largest  number  of  persons  who 
received  baptism  was  at  Soulang,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  persons,  among  them  a  grown-up  person 
who  had  never  been  instructed,  but  who  earnestly 
begged  to  be  baptized,  saying,  'Examine  me,  for  I 
wish  to  be  baptized.'  He  answered  so  well  the  ques- 
tions put  to  him,  that  it  delighted  his  hearers,  and 
the  next  day  he  was  baptized.     Up  to  the  present 


40  Great  Missionaries  of 

time  one  thousand  and  seventy  persons  have  been 
baptized  at  Soulang."  In  twenty-three  villages  he 
induced  the  people  to  abandon  their  idols.  In  six 
villages  he  baptized  upwards  of  fifty-four  hundred 
persons. 

In  1640  another  missionary,  Rev.  John  Bavius, 
came,  while  Mr.  Junius  was  granted  a  leave  of  ab- 
sence after  ten  years'  faithful  service.  When  he 
arrived  at  Batavia  he  was  asked  whether  he  would 
be  willing  to  return  to  Formosa  or  go  to  Holland. 
He  said  he  would  be  willing  to  go  back  to  Formosa 
provided  the  Dutch  Governor  there  would  be  pre- 
vented from  hindering  their  work.  The  assurance 
having  been  given  him,  he  returned  with  two  other 
missionaries  in  1641.  In  1646  Rev.  Mr.  Bavius  still 
lived  at  the  village  of  Soulang,  having  under  his 
direction  four  other  villages.  Mr.  Van  Breen  was 
laboring  at  Favorlang  and  the  neighboring  villages. 
Mr.  Happartius,  who  went  out  in  1644,  was  stationed 
at  the  castle  Zeelandia,  the  Dutch  fort  on  the  south 
side  of  the  island,  where  he  conducted  Dutch  services 
and  also  attended  to  the  natives  in  the  neighboring 
villages.  Mr.  Olaf,  a  most  acceptable  candidate  of 
theology,  labored  among  the  southern  villages,  but 
as  his  parish  was  entirely  too  long,  extending  from 


The  Reformed  Church.  41 

Favorlang-  to  Pangsoia,  he  earnestly  asked  for  an 
assistant.  In  1647  Mr.  Bavius  died,  and  Mr.  Van 
Breen  returned  to  Holland. 

But  at  that  time  God  raised  up  another  man  to 
go  to  Formosa  in  his  place.  Rev.  Daniel  Gravius,  a 
prominent  minister  at  Batavia,  a  man  of  great  talents 
and  influential  with  the  government,  felt  himself 
called  upon  to  go.  In  vain  did  his  congregation  and 
friends  try  to  change  his  decision,  but  he  would 
not  be  dissuaded.  He  left  for  Formosa  amid 
the  tears  of  his  sorrowing  congregation.  He  re- 
mained in  Formosa  four  years,  and  was  of  great 
service  there,  because  of  his  great  linguistic  abili- 
ties, in  aiding  them  in  the  language.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Batavia  to  his  old  congregation  and  finally 
to  Holland.  But  as  late  as  January  2,  1662,  he  still 
showed  great  interest  in  the  Formosan  mission,  for 
he  published  his  "Formulary  of  Christianity,"  a 
carefully  and  learned  work  of  300  pages,  in  which 
the  Dutch  and  Formosan  languages  are  printed  in 
parallel  columns.  In  1653  the  Church  affairs  at 
Formosa  were  still  reported  to  the  Dutch  govern- 
ment as  being  very  prosperous,  and  a  call  for  new 
laborers  was  issued,  but  it  seemed  difficult  to  get 
many  to  go  to  such  a  distant  island.  Still,  some 
were  sent. 


42  Great  Missionaries  of 

But  in  1661  political  dangers  began  to  threaten 
this  prosperous  mission.  The  Ming  dynasty  in  China 
was  supplanted  by  the  present  Manchu-Tartar  dy- 
nasty in  1644.  Koxinga,  one  of  the  most  daring 
spirits  of  that  age,  refused  allegiance  to  the  new  dy- 
nasty. He  collected  a  large  fleet,  which  swept  the 
seas,  and  had  tens  of  thousands  of  adherents  on  the 
land.  But  with  all  his  bravery,  he  was  not  able  to 
stem  the  tide  of  the  Tartar  leaders.  He  was  driven 
back  in  China,  until  he  was  compelled  to  leave 
China  and  seek  some  islands  as  a  refuge  for  his 
forces.  Unfortunately,  he  turned  his  eyes  toward 
the  fertile  island  of  Formosa.  With  his  coming  the 
sad  persecutions  of  the  Reformed  missions  began. 
In  1 66 1  Koxinga  landed  at  Formosa  and  summoned 
the  Dutch  garrison  at  Zeelandia  to  surrender  im- 
mediately, or  else  they  would  be  put  to  death  by 
fire  and  the  sword.  But  the  Dutchmen  are  not  ac- 
customed to  surrender  so  quickly  and  they  refused. 
He  then  began  the  siege  of  Fort  Zeelandia.  It  lasted 
nine  months.  During  this  time  the  Dutch  tried  in 
every  way  to  strengthen  their  position,  but  the 
enemy  very  vigorously  blockaded  them,  while  at 
the  same  time  they  ravaged  the  country  far  and 
near,  cruelly  inflicting  terrible  cruelties  on  the  natives 


The  Reformed  Church.  43 

and  the  Reformed  missions.  Especially  did  they 
single  out  ministers  and  school  teachers,  who  were 
threatened  with  every  sort  of  indignity,  even  death 
itself. 

The  journal  of  John  Kruyf,  kept  during  the  siege, 
gives  sketches  of  these  sufferings.  He  says :  "Van 
Druyvendal  and  a  schoolmaster  named  Franz  Van 
der  Voorn,  with  three  other  Dutchmen,  were 
brought  to  Sinkang,  The  first  two  were  crucified 
at  Sakam.  Rev.  Mr.  Hambroek  finally  gained  Kox- 
inga's  permission  to  offer  up  a  prayer  for  them. 
After  they  had  hung  on  their  crosses  for  three  days, 
they  were  carried,  still  alive,  on  the  crosses  to  Sink- 
ang, and  here  the  crosses  were  again  planted  in  the 
ground  until  the  sufferers  died."  The  same  journal 
gives  a  further  description  of  this  Reformed  school- 
master. It  says :  "The  interpreter  Druyvendal  and 
a  young  schoolmaster  had  each  been  fastened  to  a 
cross  by  having  nails  driven  through  their  hands 
and  calves  of  their  legs,  and  another  nail  driven 
into  their  backs.  In  this  sad  condition  they  hung 
for  three  or  four  days,  and  then  died  after  meat  and 
drink  had  been  withheld  from  them  all  that  time." 
These  were  Reformed  crucifixions.  These  Re- 
formed were  crucified  like  their  Saviour,  who  was 


44  Great  Missionaries  of 

crucified  for  them.  The  Chinese,  under  Koxinga, 
forced  all  the  inhabitants  who  had  taken  Christian 
names  to  take  other  names  again,  and  threatened 
severe  punishment  if  this  command  was  not  obeyed. 
A  very  touching  incident  is  told  by  Neihoflf, 
which  reveals  a  hero  in  a  Reformed  minister,  who 
is  worthy  of  being  placed  alongside  of  Regulus  in 
ancient  Roman  history.  He  was  Rev.  Mr.  Ham- 
broek,  who  was  sent  by  Koxinga  to  the  Dutch  gov- 
ernor to  propose  terms  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort, 
and  to  tell  the  governor  that  in  case  of  refusal, 
vengeance  would  be  taken  on  the  Dutch  captives 
of  Koxinga.  Hambroek  came  into  the  Dutch 
fort,  being  forced  to  leave  his  wife  and  children 
behind  as  hostages,  which  sufficiently  proved  that  if 
he  failed  in  his  errand,  he  had  nothing  but  death  to 
expect  from  Koxinga.  Yet  when  he  entered  the 
Dutch  fort,  instead  of  trying  to  urge  the  garrison 
to  surrender,  he  encouraged  them  to  a  brave  defense 
by  hopes  of  relief,  assuring  them  that  Koxinga  had 
lost  many  of  his  best  ships  and  soldiers,  and  had 
begun  to  be  weary  of  the  siege.  When  he  had  ended, 
the  council  of  war  refused  to  surrender,  and  as  to 
himself,  they  left  it  to  his  choice  to  stay  with  them 
in  the  fort  or  return  to  Koxinga's  army,  where  he 


The  Reformed  Church.  45 

could  expect  nothing  but  present  death.  Every 
one  entreated  him  to  stay.  He  had  two  daugh- 
ters in  the  fort  who  hung  on  his  neck,  overwhelmed 
with  grief  and  tears  at  seeing  their  father  go  where 
he  knew  he  must  be  sacrificed  by  the  merciless  en- 
emy. But  he  represented  to  them  that  having  left  his 
wife  and  two  other  children  in  the  camp  as  hostages, 
nothing  but  death  could  attend  them  if  he  did  not 
return.  So  unlocking  himself  from  his  daughters' 
arms,  he  returned  to  Koxinga's  camp,  telling  them  at 
parting  that  he  hoped  he  might  prove  serviceable  to 
his  poor  fellow-prisoners.  On  his  return  Koxinga 
received  his  answer  sternly,  and  then  enraged,  he 
caused  it  to  be  rumored  that  the  prisoners  were  in- 
citing the  people  of  Formosa  to  rise  against  him, 
and  ordered  that  all  the  Dutch  male  prisoners  should 
be  put  to  death.  This  was  done  and  some  were  be- 
headed, others  killed  in  a  more  barbarous  manner. 
Five  hundred  were  put  to  death,  fifty  or  sixty  of 
them  being  stripped  quite  naked  and  buried  alive  to- 
gether in  a  hole.  The  women  and  children  were  not 
spared,  m.any  of  them  being  slain,  though  some  of 
the  best  were  preserved  as  slaves.  Among  the  slain 
were  four  Reformed  ministers — Hambroek,  Mus, 
Winsem  and  Ampzingius,  and  many  schoolmasters. 


46  Grrat  Missionaries  of 

who  were  beheaded,  and  who  thus  became  martyrs. 
Meanwhile  the  garrison  in  the  fort  were  enduring 
very  great  sufferings.  Shut  in  by  land  and  sea  they 
suft'ered  great  want.  And  with  the  famine  came  sick- 
ness, so  that  they  lost  by  disease  and  the  sword  1600 
men.  They  were  finally  compelled  to  surrender  at 
the  beginning  of  1662,  when  the  enemy  allowed 
them  to  depart  in  their  only  remaining  ship.  The 
journal  thus  says :  "Who  can  without  tears  remem- 
ber the  unexpected  destruction  and  ruin  of  so  many 
families  and  of  nearly  thirty  ministers,  partly  in 
their  lives,  partly  in  their  fortunes  ?"  The  next  year 
when  Mr.  Bert  arrived  with  a  Dutch  fleet,  he  found 
Koxinga's  son  still  ruling,  who  said  that  the  Rev. 
J.  de  Leonardis  and  others  were  still  at  Sakam,  and 
that  he  would  be  willing  to  open  the  island  to  the 
Dutch  for  trade  and  give  them  a  settlement  at  Tam- 
sui,  if  they  would  help  him  against  the  Tartars.  But 
nothing  came  of  these  negotiations,  so  the  Reformed 
who  were  really  held  as  prisoners  had  to  remain 
there  in  dreary  exile,  withovit  any  communication 
with  Christian  civilization  and  home,  until  Septem- 
ber 2,  1684,  twenty-three  years  afterwards.  Then 
some  of  them  escaped,  of  whom  Alexander  Schrav- 
enbroek,  during  his  twenty-two  years  of  imprison- 


The  Reformed  Church.  47 

ment,  had  so  fully  mastered  the  language  that  the 
government  engaged  him  as  their  interpreter. 

Thus  this  promising  Reformed  mission  was  brok- 
en up.  Valentyn  gives  the  names  of  thirty-five  Re- 
formed ministers,  as  having  labored  there  a  longer 
or  shorter  time,  the  most  prominent  of  whom  was 
Robert  Junius.  Thus  the  mission,  which  in  the 
nearly  forty  years  of  its  existence  had  grown  to 
6,000  members,  was  scattered  to  the  winds.  The 
only  thing  that  remained  of  the  mission  was  a  copy 
of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  in  the  Formosan  dia- 
lect, and  that  is  to  be  found  in  the  University  of 
Leyden,  Holland.  This  was  about  being  printed 
for  them  when  the  Chinese  invaders  entered  their 
land  in  1661.  It  was  prepared  by  the  learned 
Gravius. 

The  island  was  closed  to  foreigners  and  Chris- 
tians two  hundred  years  ago,  until  the  treaty  of 
Tien-tsin  (i860)  opened  it  again.  The  Presbyterian 
Church  of  England  began  mission  work  again  there 
in  1865.  They  were  followed  seven  years  later  by 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Canada,  of  whose  num- 
ber the  brave  Junius  finds  a  worthy  successor  in 
Rev.  Dr.  Geo.  L.  Mackay,  who  has  well  been  styled 
"a  modern  apostle."    There  are  now  more  than  sev- 


48  Great  Missionaries  of 

enty  congregations  on  the  island,  some  of  them  in 
the  villages  occupied  by  the  people  whose  ancestors 
were  members  and  office  bearers  in  that  early  mar- 
tyr Reformed  Church  of  Formosa.  Thus  in  the 
village  of  Toasia  there  is  a  self-supporting  congre- 
gation of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  members.  The 
young  pastor  there  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the 
chief,  who  brought  the  tribes  under  subjection  of 
the  Chinese.  Thus  the  martyr  Reformed  Church 
of  Formosa  is  again  rising.  Phoenix-like,  from  her 
ashes,  and  that  island  is  seeing  the  strange 
sight  of  natives  casting  away  their  idols  and  coming 
to  Christ  in  that  splendid  mission  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Canada. 

The  Dutch  Reformed  also  had  other  missions  in 
the  East  Indies — in  Java,  Amboyna,  Ceylon  and 
the  Molucca  Islands.  In  1722  there  were  424,392 
converts.  But  unfortunately,  the  work  was  often 
superficially  done.  The  number  of  missionaries  was 
too  few,  so  that  their  work  lacked  depth  and  per- 
manence. Still  a  beginning  was  made  which  came  to 
blessed  fruitage  in  some  districts  in  the  nineteenth 
century. 


BOOK  II. 


DR.    THEODOSIUS   VANDERKEMP. 


THE  REFORMED  IN  AFRICA. 

Chapter  I. 
THEODOSIUS  VANDERKEMP. 


A  1  MODERN  apostle  was  Theodosius  Vander- 
^^L  kemp — at  least  he  has  never  been  surpass- 
P^^'  ed  since  the  days  of  the  apostles  in  con- 
secration and  self-denial.  He  was  a  Dutchman, 
born  in  1747,  at  Rotterdam,  where  his  father  was 
pastor  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  He  took  a 
five  years'  course  of  training  at  the  University  of 
Leyden,  and  became  a  physician.  Later  he  exchang- 
ed his  position  of  physician  for  that  of  a  soldier 
under  the  Prince  of  Orange  for  sixteen  years,  where 
he  rose  to  be  captain  of  the  horse.  Then  owing  to 
a  difference  between  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  him- 
self, he  left  the  army  and  returned  to  the  practice 
of  medicine.  He  went  to  Edinburgh  where  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  knowledge  of  the  sciences 
and  modern  languages,  and  then  settled  at  Rotter- 
dam and  by  the  practice  of  medicine  he  made  a  great 
deal  of  money. 

But  a  sudden  event  changed  his  life  in  1791.    He 
was  sailing  on  the  river  near  Dort,  when  a  violent 


52  Great  Missionaries  of 

storm  arose  and  a  water-spout  broke  over  his  boat, 
by  which  it  was  instantly  upset.  His  wife  and 
daughter  were  instantly  drowned  before  his  eyes, 
and  he  was  brought  to  the  point  of  death.  Clinging 
to  the  boat,  he  was  carried  down  stream  nearly  a 
mile,  as  no  one  dared,  in  so  dreadful  a  storm, 
to  venture  to  his  aid.  A  vessel  then  lying  at  the 
port  of  Dort  was  by  a  mysterious  providence 
driven  from  her  moorings  and  floated  toward  the 
part  of  the  river  where  he  was  just  ready  to  sink, 
and  the  sailors  took  him  from  the  wreck.  His  proud 
heart  was  completely  broken  by  this  providence.  As 
a  young  man  he  had  lived  a  dissolute  life,  but  since 
his  marriage  he  had  lived  an  outwardly  moral  life. 
Yet  he  had  imbibed  that  spirit  of  rationalism  so 
common  in  his  day.  He  did  not  believe  in  the 
Bible,  and  denied  the  divinity  of  Christ,  But  his 
soul,  now  completely  broken  up  by  the  accident, 
could  not  find  rest  till  it  found  rest  in  Christ.  Slowly 
and  with  many  struggles  he  fought  his  way  back  to 
faith — a  brand  plucked  from  the  burning,  and  des- 
tined to  become  a  burning  and  shining  light  for  the 
Gospel.  The  Book  and  the  Saviour  whom  he  once 
despised,  now  became  his  hope  and  treasure. 
About  this  time  he  came  across  the  report  of  a 


The  Reformed  Church.  53 

great  London  missionary  meeting  containing  ser- 
mons and  addresses,  etc.,  and  one  text,  "Curse  ye 
Meroz,"  entered  his  soul.  Falling  on  his  knees,  he 
cried,  "O,  Lord  Jesus,  here  am  I ;  Thou  knowest 
I  have  no  will  of  my  own  since  I  devoted  myself  to 
Thy  service."  He  at  once  offered  himself  to  the 
London  Missionary  Society,*  though  over  fifty  years 
of  age. 

He  was  appointed  to  South  Africa,  and  was 
ordained  November  3,  1797.  But  before  leav- 
ing the  Netherlands,  in  order  that  his  influence 
might  remain  behind  him,  he  organized  two 
missionary  societies,  one  at  Rotterdam  and  the 
other  in  Friesland,  the  former  of  which  has 
become  the  well  known  Netherlands  Mission- 
ary Society,  which  now  has  missions  in  the 
East  Indies  with  about  20,000  communicants. 
In  1798  he  sailed  with  three  others,  one  of  whom, 
Kicherer,  like  himself,  seems  to  have  been  a  mis- 
sionary from  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  also. 
Vanderkemp  did  not  wait  until  he  arrived  at  Africa 
before  he  began  missionary  work.  On  the  vessel 
in  which  they  sailed,  there  were  a  number  of  con- 


*The  London  Missionary   Society,  like  all  the  missionary  societies 
of  its  day,  was  undenominational. 


54  Great  Missionaries  of 

victs  on  their  way  to  the  penal  colony  in  Australia. 
He  at  once  became  interested  in  them,  and  address- 
ed them  with  such  power  that  there  was  an  awaken- 
ing in  the  ship,  and  through  it  many  of  them  were 
led  to  change  their  lives.  When  the  time  came  for 
the  convicts  to  separate  from  Vanderkemp  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  nearly  all  of  these  strong, 
wicked  men  shed  tears.  Perhaps  some  of  them  had 
never  received  a  word  of  help  and  kindness  before. 
He  arrived  at  Capetown  in  March,  1799. 

At  Capetown  Vanderkemp  at  once  began  work. 
He  started  among  the  natives,  the  slaves,  Moham- 
medans and  Hottentots,  although  he  tried  to  awaken 
a  deeper  interest  in  missions  among  the  Europeans. 
In  May,  1799,  he  left  Capetown  for  the  interior  with 
Mr.  Edmonds.  He  traveled  northeastward,  aim- 
ing to  work  among  the  Caffres.  These  were  a  very 
different  race  from  the  Hottentots.  They  were  a 
courageous,  strong  and  warlike  people,  with  high 
foreheads  and  black  eyes,  while  the  Hottentots  had 
low  foreheads  and  were  menial,  and  seemed  destined 
to  be  slaves.  The  Caffres  were  cruel  to  their  ene- 
mies, and  would  wait  long  for  vengeance.  They  in- 
cluded the  Bechuana,  Basuto  and  Zulu  tribes.  They 
had  long  and  bloody  wars  with  the  natives  and  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  55 

English.  In  the  last  war  with  the  English,  one  of 
the  tribes,  the  Zulus,  defeated  the  English,  and 
the  Prince  Imperial,  the  son  of  the  Emperor  Louis 
Napoleon,  lost  his  life.  They  were,  therefore,  very 
brave,  but  dangerous  to  labor  among.  It  has  been 
supposed  by  some  that  because  they  do  not  eat 
swine's  flesh,  and  practice  circumcision,  they 
are  distant  descendants  of  the  Jews  who  emigrated 
from  the  north.  Through  a  country  full  of  dangers 
he  pushed  and  finally  arrived  on  the  border  of  this 
warlike  tribe. 

After  a  month's  travel  he  was  brought  before 
their  king,  Geika,  unarmed,  and  without  any  attend- 
ants but  a  few  Hottentots.  The  CafTres  at  first 
thought  he  was  a  spy.  Some  slaves  and  criminals 
who  had  fled  from  the  colony,  aroused  suspicion 
among  the  Caffres  against  him.  But  it  happened 
that  on  his  way  he  stopped  at  the  farm  of  a  Dutch 
colonist  named  Beer.  Mr.  Beer  had  that  very  day 
buried  a  little  girl.  The  arrival  of  the  missionary  was 
a  balm  to  his  heart.  "O  Lord,"  he  cried  in  his  prayer 
at  family  devotion  that  night,  "Thou  hast  sent  me  a 
trial,  but  Thou  hast  at  the  same  time  granted  me  a 
great  joy  in  answering  my  long  continued  prayer 
for  a  missionary.    Thou  art  faithful  to  Thy  prom- 


56  Great  Missionaries  of 

ises."  It  is  said  that  through  Mr.  Beer's  interces- 
sion the  chief  gave  Vanderkemp  a  place  to  live  in. 
Geika  had  given  him  permission  to  pitch  his  tent 
but  advised  him  to  leave  on  account  of  the  unsettled 
state  of  the  times.  He  was  not  safe  from  wild 
beasts  and  wilder  men,  who  at  times  closely  watched 
his  dwelling. 

Various  stories  are  told  of  the  way  in  which  rene- 
gades from  the  colony  would  stir  up  the  chief 
against  him.  One  of  the  Dutch  farmers  went  to  the 
Cafifre  chief  and  made  him  believe  that  Vanderkemp 
would  try  to  poison  him  by  giving  him  brandy  with 
water  in  it.  The  chief,  taking  a  company  of  armed 
men,  went  to  the  missionary,  fully  determined  to 
kill  him  as  soon  as  he  offered  him  anything  to  drink. 
He  seated  himself  near  his  wagon  and  began  to  talk 
with  Vanderkemp.  Hours  passed  away,  and  still 
the  brandy  did  not  appear.  Tired  of  waiting,  the 
chief  went  away,  but  soon  returned  and  asked, 
"Haven't  you  any  brandy  ?"  'T  have  not,"  answered 
the  missionary,  without  a  suspicion  of  the  danger  he 
had  passed  through,  "and  never  expect  to  have 
any."  "Then  they  have  deceived  me,"  cried  the 
chief,  throwing  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  missionary. 
"I  see  that  you  are  a  good  man.    You  do  not  wish 


The  Reformed  Church.  ^y 

to  kill  me."    Permission  having  been  given,  he  open- 
ed a  station  and  school.    The  chief,  though  he  dis- 
liked him,  yet  appealed  to  his  aid.    When  the  coun- 
try was  desolated  by  a  long  drought,  Geika  sent  for 
Vanderkemp,    so  as   to  obtain   rain  through   him. 
Fearing  that  if  he  did  so  it  would  be  attributed  to 
magical  art,  like  that  of  the  professional  rain-makers 
of  the  heathen,  Vanderkemp  refused.    But  the  chief 
sent  a  second  messenger,  who  told  him  the  king 
said,  "It  is  cruel  to  treat  the  Caffres  thus.     You 
know  if  you  will  only  go  on  your  knees  and  hide 
your  face  in  your  hands,  we  will  have  as  much  rain 
as  we  want."     "So  be  it  then,"  said  Vanderkemp. 
He  remembered  Elijah's  prayers  for  rain,  and  he 
began  to  pray.     The  God  of  Elijah  answered  and 
rain  came  in  torrents  for  several  days.     The  chief 
sent  a  messenger  with  many  thanks  to  him,  but  gave 
him  a  compliment  that  made  him  smile.     "Another 
time,"  said  the  chief,  "be  a  little  more  moderate. 
This  time  you  have  almost  drowned  us.    Here,  how- 
ever, is  a  fat  ox  as  the  proof  of  my  gratitude."  Van- 
derkemp peremptorily  refused  to  receive  the  ox.  But 
one  of  the  scoundrel  whites  who  infested  the  coun- 
try, conceived  the  idea  of  making  a  good  thing  at 
Vanderkemp's  expense.    He  met  in  the  woods  the 


58  Great  Missionaries  of 

Caffre  taking  the  ox  back  to  the  chief.  "What?" 
said  he,  when  the  native  told  him  the  story  how  the 
ox  was  brought  back  to  the  chief.  "What,  one  ox — 
one  single  ox  for  such  a  splendid  rain  as  that?  It 
is  an  insult.  Let  Geika  at  once  send  me  six  oxen 
like  this.  I  will  take  it  on  myself  to  present  them 
to  the  missionary.  You  will  see  that  they  are  ac- 
cepted." The  chief  forwarded  the  six  oxen  to  this 
officious  middle  man,  and  it  hardly  need  be  added 
that  neither  Geika  nor  the  missionary  ever  heard  of 
them  again. 

Vanderkemp  found  his  life  constantly  in  danger 
from  such  men  as  these  adventurers  who  accom- 
panied the  retailers  of  brandy,  and  were  marauding 
among  the  natives,  falling  on  them  most  cruelly 
unawares.  Such  men  could  not  forgive  Vander- 
kemp for  the  love  he  had  toward  the  Hottentots 
and  Caffres.  More  than  once  they  attempted  his 
life,  but  God  preserved  him.  The  Caffres  saw  his 
danger,  and  also  noted  his  safety  and  came  to  re- 
gard him  as  a  sacred  being,  who  had  power  with  the 
invisible  God,  before  whom  they  so  often  saw  him 
pray.  His  companion,  Mr.  Edmonds,  having  left,  he 
continued  alone  in  Cafifreland  for  over  a  year.  Then 
Geika,  becoming  jealous  of  the  growing  power  of 


The  Reformed  Church.  59 

Christianity,  ordered  him  away.  He  left,  followed 
by  sixty  converts.  Thus  ended  his  work  among  the 
Caffres,  whose  hearts  seemed  like  stone,  and  yet  it 
did  not  end.  He  sowed  good  seed,  for  thirty  years 
afterwards  an  aged  woman  was  admitted  to  the 
Church  who  had  received  the  Gospel  from  his  lips. 
But  the  most  important  result  was  that  he,  with  his 
wonderful  skill  at  languages,  prepared  a  dictionary 
of  the  Cafifre  language.  The  London  Missionary 
Society  said  that  he  had  done  more  in  sixteen 
months  than  many  missionaries  did  in  a  lifetime.  He 
only  opened  the  door  into  Caffreland  for  mission- 
aries younger  than  himself.  And  up  to  a  few  years 
ago,  in  all  regions  occupied  by  Cafifres,  the  natives 
who  embraced  Christianity  were  frequently  called 
Ma  Yankana,  meaning,  "the  men  of  Vanderkemp." 
Vanderkemp,  having  been  compelled  to  leave 
Caffreland,  arrived  with  his  converts  in  May,  1801, 
at  Graff  Reinet.  He  was  offered  the  pastorate  of  the 
Dutch  Church  there,  but  refused,  for  he  felt 
that  his  mission  was  to  minister  to  and  save 
the  poor  Hottentots.  He  soon  collected  a  col- 
ony of  two  hundred.  Buildings  were  erected  at 
Graff  Reinet  for  the  mission  and  it  became  a  per- 
manent station.     But  the  whites  soon  became  jeal- 


6o  Great  Missionaries  of 

ous  and  charged  him  with  teaching  the  slaves  and 
heathen,  so  that  they  might  become  the  equals  of  the 
whites.  He  saw  that  it  would  be  safer  to  have  the 
Hottentots  go  out  from  among  the  whites  into  a 
separate  colony,  and  after  many  struggles,  he  gained 
permission  to  found  another  colony.  The  govern- 
ment granted  him  land  near  Algoa  Bay.  A  part  of 
his  congregation  occupied  it  early  in  1802.  When 
the  governor  visited  it  that  year,  although  it  was  not 
a  complete  success,  he  was  so  much  impressed  with 
the  good  it  was  doing,  as  well  as  the  danger  of  the 
location,  for  the  wild  Hottentots  had  repeatedly  at- 
tacked them,  that  he  urged  them  to  occupy  Fort 
Frederick,  which  had  just  been  given  up  by  its  gar- 
rison. So  to  be  safe  from  the  opposition  of  the  col- 
onists and  from  the  attacks  of  plundering  Hottentots 
he  went  with  three  hundred  Hottentots  to  that  fort. 
His  work  now  became  more  encouraging,  as  several 
Hottentots  applied  for  baptism.  He  was  so  ill  with 
rheumatism  at  the  time  that  he  had  to  baptize  them 
as  he  lay  on  his  couch. 

The  country  then  passed  from  the  rule  of  the  Eng- 
lish into  the  hands  of  the  Dutch.  It  was  expected 
that  they  would  be  prejudiced  against  the  mission, 
because  the  Boers  hated  the  Hottentots.     But  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  6i 

governor  soon  discovered  how  much  good  Vander- 
kemp  was  doing,  and  gave  him  his  assistance  in 
forming  a  new  mission.  He  granted  them  a  station 
at  Kooboo,  where  they  commenced  a  station  named 
Bethelsdorp  (seven  miles  north  of  the  bay),  which 
was  founded  in  June,  1803.  This  place  had  little  to 
favor  it.  The  soil  was  poor,  and  there  was  hardly 
enough  water  for  domestic  purposes.  They  could 
not  irrigate,  and  so  they  could  only  farm  with  diffi- 
culty. Five  years  after,  they  wrote  to  the  directors 
of  the  Mission  that  they  had  been  without  bread  for 
a  long  time,  and  did  not  expect  to  procure  any  for 
three  or  four  months,  nor  had  they  any  vegetables. 
And  yet  they  took  this  desert  place,  and  under  the 
blessing  of  God,  after  a  long  time,  made  it  blossom 
like  the  rose. 

The  Hottentots  at  once  began  to  gather  round 
Vanderkemp,  when  they  found  that  they  had  a 
friend  and  a  sympathizer  in  him.  The  progress  of 
his  scholars  there  was  astonishing;  and,  above  all, 
their  faculty  in  acquiring  religious  knowledge,  when 
one  considers  their  native  stupidity,  was  wonderful. 
In  the  first  year  twenty-two  were  baptized.  From 
this  time  on  till  the  reoccupation  by  the  British,  the 
work  was  carried  on  with  great  vigor  by  Vander- 


62  Great  Missionaries  of 

kemp.  In  1807  great  religious  interest  was  mani- 
fested and  an  out-station  at  Steurmanns  Krall  es- 
tablished. By  1810  the  population  of  Bethelsdorp 
was  1,000,  so  rapidly  did  the  mission  grow.  Thus 
his  work  prospered. 

Some  very  beautiful  stories  are  told  of  his  work. 
Cupido,  a  Hottentot,  was  remarkable  for  swearing, 
lying,  fighting  and  drunkenness,  which  often  laid 
him  on  a  sick  bed.  At  such  times  he  would  resolve 
on  reformation,  but  when  he  became  well  again,  he 
would  forget  all  his  vows.  He  was  sometimes 
afraid  of  God,  though  he  knew  little  of  Him,  He 
was  providentially  led  to  Graff  Reinet,  where  he 
heard  Vanderkemp  declare  that  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  could  save  sinners  from  their  sins.  He 
said  within  himself,  "That  is  what  I  want.  That  is 
what  I  want."  He  went  to  the  missionary  and  asked 
that  he  might  become  acquainted  with  this  Jesus.  He 
then  told  all  that  he  had  found  One  who  could  save 
him  from  his  sins.  He  not  only  became  a  believer,  but 
through  a  sermon  of  Vanderkemp,  also  a  devoted 
and  successful  missionary.  Another  interesting  case 
was  that  of  Lentze,  a  Caffre  woman.  She  was  a  con- 
vert, and  was  remarkable  for  her  integrity  of  life 
and  her  constancy  and  fervor  in  prayer.     In  her 


The  Reformed  Church.  63 

last  illness  she  spent  almost  day  and  night  in  com- 
munion with  Christ.  One  morning  she  sent  for 
Vanderkemp,  requesting  him  to  give  her  farewell 
to  all  the  people  of  God,  and  then  desired  to  be 
placed  in  the  open  air.  When  he  and  his  servant 
had  carried  her  out  of  doors,  she  said,  "Now  I  will 
go  to  my  Lord,"  and  expired. 

Dr.  Vanderkemp  had  his  peculiarities  and  eccen- 
tricities ;  and  yet  they  reveal  his  wonderfully  con- 
secrated spirit.  He  was  a  man  of  great  frugality, 
and  carried  the  carelessness  of  his  person  to  the  ex- 
tremest  lin^ts.  He  never  wore  a  hat  in  South  Africa. 
On  one  occasion,  when  some  new  trick  that  his 
enemies  played  on  his  Hottentots,  compelled  him  to 
go  up  to  Cape  Town  to  appeal  to  the  authorities,  he 
had  to  buy  a  hat.  But  even  then  he  did  not  use  it 
as  a  head-covering,  but  held  it  in  his  hands  behind 
his  back.  The  street  boys  took  advantage  of  his 
forgetfulness,  and  amused  themselves  from  behind 
by  filling  it  with  gravel.  The  doctor  soon  dis- 
covered by  its  weight  that  it  was  no  longer  empty, 
and  simply  emptied  it.  But  even  then  he  did  not 
put  it  on  his  head,  but  bareheaded  went  on  his  walk. 
He  held  rigid  views  about  a  missionary's  life.  His 
maxim  was  that  a  missionary  should  own  only  the 


64  Great  Missionaries  of 

clothes  he  had  on,  and  that  he  should  conform  him- 
self to  the  food  of  the  natives.  He  insisted  that  the 
London  Society  ought  to  allow  only  $150  a  year  to 
its  workers.  He  did  not  do  this  merely  from  a  no- 
tion of  economy,  but  he  held  that  if  you  would  raise 
the  natives  up  to  your  level,  you  must  go  down  to 
theirs  in  everything  that  was  not  wrong.  This  prin- 
ciple has  since  been  proved  a  false  one,  yet  it  revealed 
his  consecration  and  self-denial  for  God.  It  meant 
the  giving  up  of  civilization  in  order  to  save  the 
blacks.  It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion  an  English 
diplomatic  officer  visited  him  in  CafTreland  and 
found  him  brick-making  without  a  hat,  and  in  a 
costume  as  light  as  that  of  the  natives.  In  his  devo- 
tion to  his  principles  he  went  so  far  as  to  redeem  a 
black  slave  girl  and  then  marry  her,  so  that  he  might 
gain  the  entire  sympathy  of  the  blacks,  and  thus 
bring  them  to  Christ.  She  was  a  converted  Hotten- 
tot, who  remained  to  the  end  uneducated,  so  differ- 
ent from  himself  that  it  caused  him  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.  So  great  was  his  love  for  the  poor  Hotten- 
tots that  he  said :  "I  should  not  fear  to  oflfer  my  life 
for  the  last  child  among  them." 

Still,  with  all  his  eccentricities,  he  was  a  wonder- 
fully consecrated  man.     He  was  a  close  student  of 


The  Reformed  Church.  65 

God's  Word.  The  Hottentots  preserve  many  stories 
of  his  studies.  They  would  say  that  in  his 
travels  when  at  evening  they  would  unyoke  the 
oxen  and  were  preparing  the  doctor's  meal  he 
would  go  and  seat  himself  some  distance  among  the 
bushes  with  paper  and  pencil  in  hand.  There  he 
gave  himself  to  prayer  and  meditation.  They  used 
to  hear  him  say  sometimes,  "Lord,  I  do  not  under- 
stand this  point,  this  word."  A  moment  afterwards 
he  would  say,  'T  see  it  a  little  better  now,  but  not 
enough.  Enlighten  me."  And  then  often,  after  a 
moment  of  silence  he  cried,  "Oh,  now  I  understand ; 
thanks,  thanks,  Lord."  Then,  in  spite  of  the  dark- 
ness he  would  begin  to  write,  and  his  pencil  would 
fly  over  the  paper.  He  was  prayful,  and  yet  he  did 
not  believe  in  being  always  on  his  knees.  Prayer 
without  ceasing  meant  prayer  in  the  spirit,  rather 
than  prayer  in  the  act.  One  day  while  he  was  trav- 
ersing a  forest  in  Caffraria  with  a  young  missionary 
suddenly  a  band  of  warriors  appeared  in  full  armor, 
making  motions  in  an  alarming  manner.  The  new 
missionary,  whose  carriage  was  following  his,  got 
out  and  ran  to  him,  begging  him  to  stop  and  ask 
God's  protection.  But  Vanderkemp  said,  "My 
friend,  didn't  you  pray  this  morning?  Let  us  go 
on. 


66  Great  Missionaries  of 

The  cruelties  which  the  poor  Hottentots  suffered 
from  the  whites  caused  feehngs  of  deepest  pity  in 
his  heart.  It  is  said  that  within  three  years  he  had 
paid  no  less  than  $5,000  to  redeem  slaves.  Through 
him  and  the  other  missionaries  the  Hottentots  were 
finally  delivered  from  their  oppressions.  When 
Cape  Colony  was  under  control  of  the  Dutch,  it  is 
said  the  Boers  earnestly  requested  General  Janssen, 
the  governor,  to  expel  Vanderkemp  and  the  other 
missionaries,  because  they  were  trying  to  civilize 
and  Christianize  the  Hottentots.  The  governor  in- 
dignantly refused,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  try 
to  have  justice  done  to  the  Hottentots  on  the  fron- 
tiers, because  he  had  confidence  in  the  missionaries. 
This  fact  ought  to  be  mentioned,  for  it  has  been 
generally  supposed  that  the  Dutch  were  against  the 
missionaries,  but  here  their  governor  protected 
them.  Vanderkemp  was  called  on  again  and  again 
to  defend  these  persecuted  Hottentots.  For  the  Hot- 
tentots were  very  cruelly  treated  along  the  frontier. 
Rev.  Mr.  Read  asserted  to  the  directors  of  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society  that  100  murders  were 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  Vanderkemp  and  him- 
self, and  yet  there  was  no  redress.  Dr.  Vander- 
kemp became  thus  the  great  champion  of  the  black 


The  Reformed  Church.  6'/ 

race  in  South  Africa,  the  Wilberforce  of  South  Af- 
rica. Twice  he  had  to  go  personally  all  the  way  to 
Cape  Town  to  testify  for  them.  Almost  his  last  ser- 
vice was  to  go  and  testify  in  the  courts  at  Cape 
Town  against  their  wrongs. 

He  was  under  appointment  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  to  go  to  Madagascar,  and  start  a 
new  mission  there,  when  he  suddenly  died  at  Cape 
Town,  December  15,  181 1.  His  last  words  were: 
"It  is  all  good."  Thus,  after  13  years  of  mission- 
ary work,  he  went  to  his  rest.  The  Lord  had  pre- 
pared for  him  a  better  country  than  Madagascar. 
But  his  station  at  Bethelsdorp  continued  to  pros- 
per until  it  had,  in  1889,  raised  up  more  than  a  hun- 
dred native  preachers  and  brought  6,ocx)  souls  into 
the  church  and  won  by  its  instruction  30,000  ad- 
herents. The  traveler  who  now  visits  it  will  find 
instead  of  Hottentot  hovels,  well  built  houses,  a 
church,  a  school,  a  printing  press  and  all  kinds  of 
mechanics.  The  ignorant  Hottentots,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Christianity,  have  developed  into  noble 
men  and  women.  In  1842,  poor  as  they  were,  they 
gathered  together  as  much  as  $480.00  for  mis- 
sions. After  such  a  change  one  can  well  say,  "If 
any  man  is  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature."    The 


68  Great  Missionaries  of 

Hottentots,  almost  the  lowest  of  humanity,  were  by 
Vanderkemp's  labors  and  through  Christianity  de- 
veloped into  equals  of  any. 

Such  was  Vanderkemp — a  most  consecrated  man. 
The  Reformed  Church — indeed,  any  other  Church — 
has  never  raised  up  a  more  spiritually-minded,  self- 
denying,  consecrated  missionary  than  he.  One  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  his  work  pays  the  follow- 
ing eloquent  tribute  to  his  life.  He  says  that  "for 
combining  natural  talents,  extensive  learning,  ele- 
vated piety,  ardent  zeal,  disinterested  benevolence, 
unshaken  perseverance  and  unfeigned  hurriility  he 
has  not  been  equalled  since  the  days  of  the  apostles." 
No  less  an  authority  than  the  Rev.  Dr.  Moffat,  the 
famous  missionary  to  South  Africa,  the  father-in- 
law  of  Livingston,  says  of  him :  "He  came  from  the 
university  to  teach  the  alphabet  to  the  poor,  naked 
Hottentot  and  Caffre;  from  the  society  of  nobles 
to  associate  with  beings  of  the  lowest  grade  of  hu- 
manity; from  stately  mansions  to  the  filthy  hovel 
of  the  greasy  African ;  from  the  army  to  instruct  the 
fierce  savage  in  the  tactics  of  a  heavenly  warfare 
under  the  banner  of  the  Prince  of  Peace ;  from  the 
study  of  medicine  to  become  a  guide  to  the  Balm  of 
Gilead  and  the  physician  there;  and  finally  from  a 
life  of  earthly  honor  and  ease  to  be  exposed  to  perils 


The  Reformed  Church.  69 

of  waters,  of  robbers,  of  his  own  countrymen,  of  the 
heathen,  in  the  city,  in  the  wilderness."  He  was  a 
faint  type  and  eloquent  copy  of  his  Master,  who, 
though  He  was  rich,  for  our  sake  became  poor,  who 
gave  up  the  happiness  and  blessed  society  of  heaven 
to  come  down  to  earth  and  live  among  sinful  men, 
in  order  to  save  them.  He,  with  Schmidt  of  the 
Moravians,  was  one  of  the  first  laborers  for  the  re- 
generation of  Africa.  He  was  the  forerunner  of 
Moffat  and  Livingston,  and  prepared  the  way  for 
their  later  triumphs.  Thus  his  prayer  when  he 
built  the  first  hut  in  Caflfreland  that  "From  under 
his  roof  the  seed  of  the  Gospel  might  spread 
through  all  Africa,"  was  fulfilled.  For  all  the 
wonderful  changes  that  are  taking  place  in  the  Dark 
Continent  of  Africa  today  may  have  said  to  have 
Vanderkemp  as  one  of  their  starting  points.  He 
being  dead,  yet  speaketh.  And  as  thousands  of  these 
black  Hottentots,  washed  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  shall  take  their  place  around  God's  throne  in 
heaven,  they  will  come  as  the  trophies  of  the  man, 
who,  like  his  Master,  gave  up  all  in  order  to  win 
them  to  Christ.  "They  that  be  wise,  shall  shine 
as  the  brightest  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  forever  and 
ever." 


Chapter  II. 

EUGENE  CASALIS. 
One  of  the  most  consecrated  of  missionaries  was 
Eugene  Casalis,  the  French  missionary  to  South 
Africa.  On  November  21,  1812,  he  was  born  of 
Huguenot  parents  at  Orthez  in  southwestern  France, 
where  Viret,  the  Reformer  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
had  taught  theology.  More  than  once  had  his  ances- 
tors suffered  for  their  Reformed  faith,  for  they 
belonged  to  the  persecuted  Church  of  the  Desert. 
Indeed,  the  house  of  his  grandfather  had  been  one 
of  the  retreats  of  the  Huguenot  pastors,  in  those 
times  of  danger.  There  a  window  five  feet  from 
the  ground  opened  into  a  vineyard,  which  opened 
into  a  woods  beyond,  thus  providing  a  way  of  es- 
cape. Young  Eugene  used  to  rejoice  to  hear  his 
grandmother  tell  how  she  had  on  one  occasion  aided 
a  Reformed  pastor  to  escape.  He  was  conferring 
with  her  husband,  when  suddenly  a  breathless  mes- 
senger burst  in  on  them,  telling  them  that  the  dra- 
goons were  on  hand.  The  pastor  quietly  retired 
through  the  window  to  the  woods,  while  she  shut 
the  door  and  began  to  wind  thread.  The  dragoons 
soon  arrived  and  demanded  admission.    She  bravely 

71 


^2  Great  Missionaries  of 

replied :  "Sir,  I  shall  not  open  the  door  until  you 
have  shown  me  your  orders."  Fortunately  the  cap- 
tain had  forgotten  them.  So  all  that  he  could  do 
was  to  stamp  and  storm  outside.  By  and  by  when 
she  felt  that  the  pastor  had  gotten  to  a  safe  distance, 
she  opened  the  door,  saying :  "Sir,  my  door  is  closed 
against  everybody  who  endeavors  to  force  it,  unless 
authorized  by  the  king;  but  it  is  opened  to  those, 
who,  like  you,  have  need  of  refreshment  and  re- 
pose." The  dragoons  immediately  searched  the 
house  from  cellar  to  garret,  and  found,  not  the 
fugitive  pastor,  but  on  their  return  a  delicious  re- 
past prepared  for  them  with  true  French  hospitality. 
Heir  to  such  blood  and  such  memories,  Eugene 
easily  became  a  hero.  To  his  grandmother  who  told 
the  story,  he  owed  his  first  drawings  to  religion. 
As  early  as  his  ninth  year  his  friends  had  marked 
him  out  for  the  ministry.  But  the  missionary  spirit 
was  already  beginning  to  work  within  the  boy,  for 
he  relates  how  he  wept  over  the  story  of  two  little 
Africans.  His  impressions  were  deepened  by  the 
earnest  ministry  of  Rev.  Mr.  Pyt,  one  of  the  most 
godly  and  zealous  of  the  French  pastors,  who 
preached  at  Bayonne,  where  Casalis  lived.  One 
day  Mr.  Pyt  said  to  him:  "Eugene,  you  are  fifteen 


The  Reformed  Church.  73 

years  old.  It  is  time  we  know  what  you  are  going 
to  be."  He  immediately  replied :  "I  shall  not  tell 
you  what  I  wish  to  be,  but  what  I  shall  be, — a  mis- 
sionary." His  pastor's  heart  greatly  rejoiced  at  the 
decision ;  and  so  Eugene  was  sent  to  the  Mission 
House  at  Paris. 

One  of  the  brightest  jewels  in  the  coronet  of  mis- 
sions is  the  French  mission  in  Southern  Africa.  The 
Paris  Missionary  Society  was  organized  in  Novem- 
ber, 1822.  France  was  entering  upon  a  new  era 
after  Napoleon's  defeat;  and  already  less  than  ten 
years  after  his  overthrow  this  society  was  formed. 
It  was  organized  on  an  undenominational  basis,  but 
as  most  of  the  French  Protestants  were  Reformed, 
it  was  of  a  prevailingly  Reformed  consciousness. 
Kalkar,  in  his  excellent  "History  of  Missions,"  calls 
it  the  French  Reformed  Missionary  Society.  It  is 
now  more  prevailingly  Reformed  than  at  its  begin- 
ning, for  most  of  the  Lutherans  of  France  were 
lost  to  that  country  by  the  loss  of  Alsace  and  Lor- 
raine; and  now  almost  all  its  supporters  and  mis- 
sionaries are  from  the  old  Huguenot  Church.  In 
1828  Dr.  Philip,  that  burning  missionary  herald  of 
the  Gospel  in  South  Africa,  happened  to  visit  Paris, 
and  urged  them  to  choose  South  Africa  as  their  mis- 


74  Great  Missionaries  of 

sion  field.  They  acted  on  his  advice,  sending  out,  in 
1829,  three  missionaries — RoUand,  Lemue  and  Bis- 
seaux.  This  was  the  first  time  that  the  French 
Protestant  Church  had  seen  the  spectacle  of  an  ap- 
pointment of  missionaries  for  about  270  years,  when 
Coligny  sent  two  missionaries  to  Brazil. 

The  students  of  the  Mission  House  were  prepared 
for  the  foreign  work  by  doing  home  missionary  work 
in  that  great  city.  They  had  a  chapel  in  a  wretched 
quarter  of  the  city  where  Casalis  served  his  appren- 
ticeship for  his  life-work  among  the  savages.  It 
happened  that  about  this  time  cholera  broke  out.  And 
one  morning  at  the  mission  service  as  Casalis  was 
oflfering  prayer  that  God  might  guard  them  from  the 
plague,  but  especially  prepare  them  to  die,  suddenly 
a  man  fell  over  in  the  congregation.  Casalis  rushed 
from  the  pulpit  and  held  the  man  in  his  arms  while 
he  writhed  in  the  agonies  of  cholera.  Two  hours 
later  the  man  died,  and  Casalis  buried  him  the  next 
day.  Such  labors,  however,  were  only  preparing 
him  for  his   future  work  in  South  Africa. 

It  was  expected  that  he  would  be  sent  to  Algiers, 
which  the  French  government  had  lately  acquired, 
but  it  was  soon  decided  that  he  should  go  to  South 
Africa.     So  he  went  among    his    friends,    bidding 


The  Reformed  Church.  75 

them  good  bye.  Many  of  them,  expecting  never  to 
see  him  again,  lifted  their  finger  to  heaven  as  they 
said :  "Adieu  till  we  meet  in  heaven."  His  father 
clasped  him  to  his  bosom,  saying:  "I  will  never  see 
you  again,"  a  prophecy  which,  alas,  was  fulfilled, 
for  his  father  died  soon  after.  Having  been  ordained 
at  Paris,  October  18,  1832,  he  finally,  after  a  long 
and  eventful  voyage,  arrived  at  Cape  Colony,  in 
South  Africa. 

When  the  first  missionaries  of  this  society  had 
arrived  in  South  Africa,  they  were  joyfully  received 
by  the  French  who  had  settled  there  after  the  Revo- 
cation of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  had  driven  them  out 
of  France,  and  they  insisted  that  one  of  these  French 
missionaries  should  remain  and  evangelize  among 
them.  Mr.  Bisseaux  was  therefore  left  among  them. 
He  settled  in  Wagonmaker's  Valley,  forty  miles 
northeast  of  the  Cape  Town,  and  began  preaching 
the  gospel  to  the  Hottentots  who  were  slaves  of  the 
farmers.  So  great  was  his  success  that  within  a  year 
and  a  half  ten  were  baptized.  His  work  was  trans- 
ferred to  Wellington  and  in  1875  there  was  a  church 
there  of  350  members  and  200  children.  Thus  even 
before  they  had  started  a  mission  to  the  heathen  in 
the  interior,  the  missionaries  were  permitted  to  plant 


'jd  Great  Missionaries  of 

one  centre  of  light  right  in  the  midst  of  the  colony. 

But  the  other  two  missionaries  pressed  on  to  the 
northeast  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  They 
then  found  themselves  in  the  land  of  a  cruel  chief, 
Moselekatsi.  They  had  hardly  begun  to  collect  mate- 
rials to  build,  when  war-like  messengers  appeared, 
commanding  them  to  appear  before  the  chief.  As  it 
was  not  prudent  that  all  should  go,  for  fear 
that  none  might  return,  Pelissier  went  alone,  his 
servants  declaring  that  he  would  never  return.  But 
though  guarded  with  spears  all  the  way,  he  received 
a  more  cordial  welcome  from  the  chief  than  he  ex- 
pected, and  in  a  few  days  was  permitted  to  return. 
But  he  had  hardly  returned  before  all  the  mission- 
aries were  ordered  to  appear  before  the  chief.  Word 
came  to  them  from  friends  that  they  must  not  go, 
as  the  chief  had  decided  on  their  ruin.  They  de- 
cided on  flight. 

So  when  Casalis  arrived  in  Africa  he  was  aston- 
ished to  find  that  the  mission  already  established  by 
their  society  had  been  broken  up,  but  Providence  was 
opening  up  another  and  far  better  field  for  them. 
Here  he  and  his  two  fellow-missionaries,  Arbous- 
set  and  Gosellin,  were  gladly  received,  especially  by 
the  Huguenots  whose  ancestors  had  emigrated  there 


The  Reformed  Church.  TJ 

during  the  previous   century.      But  his   work  was 
not  among  them,  but  in  the  "regions  beyond." 

How  wonderfully  God  prepares  the  field  for  the 
workers  as  well  as  the  workers  for  the  field.  For  it 
happened  that  just  before  the  time  that  these  mis- 
sionaries arrived  at  the  Cape,  the  chief  of  the  Basu- 
tos  heard  from  a  Hottentot  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion. And  having  grown  tired  of  war,  he  sent  a 
deputation  to  the  great  chief  of  the  whites  with  a 
present  of  two  hundred  oxen,  praying  him  to  send 
him  back,  in  exchange  for  the  cattle,  men  capable  of 
teaching  the  blacks.  And  although  this  embassy 
was  attacked  and  his  oxen  taken,  still  he  sent  an- 
other messenger  to  the  colony  for  a  man  of  prayer. 
Here  is  the  Providence.  When  Casalis  was  starting 
from  France,  God  put  it  into  the  heart  of  this 
heathen  chief  to  send  for  a  teacher.  The  messenger 
of  the  chief  and  the  messenger  of  God,  Casalis,  met 
at  Cape  Town.  So  Casalis  with  his  companions  ac- 
cepted the  call  and  set  out  on  a  journey  of  twelve 
hundred  miles  northeast  until  at  last  they  arrived  at 
Thaba  Bosiou,  the  capital  of  Basutoland.  On  the 
way,  Casalis,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  very 
near-sighted,  had  his  spectacles  ground  to  pieces  in 
his  pocket.    He  was  in  consternation.    All  he  could 


78  Great  Missionaries  of 

do  was  to  go  back  and  buy  others,  for  the  wilds  to 
which  he  was  going  would  not  produce  them.  So 
back  to  the  town  of  Graff  Reinet  he  went,  but  no 
spectacles  were  to  be  found  there ;  none  could  be  had 
nearer  than  Cape  Town  and  it  would  take  three 
months  to  get  them  to  him  in  the  wilderness.  So  he 
set  out  again  to  catch  up  to  his  caravan.  He  was 
riding  along  on  the  high  road  when  suddenly  what 
seemed  a  lion's  head  was  put  over  the  hedge  along 
the  road ;  at  first  he  thought  it  was  a  dog,  then  he  was 
sure  it  was  a  lion.  Greatly  frightened,  he  determined 
to  go  back,  but  what  surprised  him  was  that  his 
horse  did  not  seem  to  be  frightened.  After  the  first 
fright  was  over,  as  he  wiped  his  brow  of  the  per- 
spiration that  the  lion  had  caused,  he  said  to  him- 
self, "I  have  had  the  honor  of  exchanging  looks 
with  a  lion  in  full  daylight  and  in  his  own  domin- 
ions." But  his  adventures  were  not  over.  Soon 
after  he  saw  six  more  lions  as  large  as  the  first.  He 
passed  them  and  to  his  surprise  lived.  By  evening 
he  had  caught  up  to  his  company  and  was  seated  be- 
fore a  great  fire  eating  his  supper.  He  told  them  he 
had  seen  seven  lions  which  greatly  surprised  them 
as  they  had  seen  none.  The  next  day  as  their  wag- 
ons were  rolling  on  suddenly  he  saw  one  of  the 


The  Reformed  Church,  79 

lions  and  he  grasped  another  missionary's  arm  say- 
ing, "There  are  the  Hons ;  now  you  will  believe  the 
country  is  full  of  them."  His  companion,  roaring 
with  laughter,  said :  "Those  are  not  lions.  They  are 
gnus,  a  kind  of  inoffensive  antelope,  whose  head 
appears  at  a  distance  like  that  of  a  lion's."  His  near- 
sighted eyes  had  been  at  fault.  How  many  lions 
in  the  way  do  we  imagine  we  see,  which  after  all 
are  chained  like  Bunyan's  in  Pilgrims  Progress,  or 
are  unreal  as  in  Casalis'  case?  How  many  lions  in 
the  way  have  appeared  before  us  in  our  missionary 
work  but  who  turned  out  to  be  only  phantoms? 
At  Thaba  Bosiou  they  met  Moshesh,  the  most  en- 
lightened and  upright  chief  in  South  Africa,  who 
had  sent  for  them  and  who  lived  in  a  mountain  for- 
tress and  gladly  welcomed  them,  by  placing  the 
whole  country  at  their  disposal.  But  they  did  not 
settle  on  his  mountain  capital,  as  they  wanted  to 
locate  near  a  stream,  so  that  they  might  introduce 
farming.  They  therefore  chose  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  valleys  twenty  miles  south  of  Thaba 
Bosiou  and  called  it  Moriah.  Here  Casalis  found  as 
his  best  helper  Gosselin,  who  was  a  practical  me- 
chanic. When  Gosselin  had  heard  in  France  that  a 
layman  was  wanted  by  the  Missionary  Society,  he 


8o  Great  Missionaries  of 

cried  right  out  in  the  meeting:  "That  means  me,  I 
am  the  man ;"  and  in  three  days  he  was  ready  to  go. 
Mainly  through  GosseHn's  efforts  a  Httle  hut  was 
erected  for  the  missionaries,  and  Casalis  went  back  to 
the  Cape  to  get  the  furniture  and  herds  for  the  settle- 
ment. On  his  return  occurred  an  illustration  of  the 
dangers  that  gathered  around  them.  One  evening 
at  ten  o'clock,  as  the  little  company  was  gathered 
around  the  main  fire  for  worship,  they  heard  the 
convulsive  hiccough  that  a  lion  makes  when  about  to 
spring  on  his  prey.  Instinctively  he  started  the 
hymn,  the  Hottentots,  who  are  great  singers,  joining 
in  with  great  earnestness  and  volume.  Their  sing- 
ing must  have  frightened  the  lion,  for  the  next  day 
they  saw  his  tracks  and  realized  that  God  had  saved 
them  through  a  hymn. 

Casalis  and  his  companions  soon  began  to  give 
religious  instruction,  but  the  work  was  very  slow. 
The  first  difficulty  was  the  language,  which,  as  there 
was  no  grammar,  they  had  to  pick  up  word  by  word. 
They  had  at  first  as  an  interpreter  a  native  who 
knew  a  little  Dutch,  but  knew  nothing  about  religion. 
He  had  only  one  word  for  religion,  namely  prayer. 
So  when  the  missionaries  urged  believing  or  repent- 
ing, he  always  interpreted  it  praying.     Some  of  his 


The  Reformed  Church.  8i 

blunders  were  even  laughable.  Thus  he  confounded 
the  Dutch  word  Zaligmaker  (Saviour)  with  Zedal- 
maker  (saddle-maker),  and  so  told  the  Basutos  that 
Jesus  was  the  great  saddle-maker.  His  whole  man- 
ner left  the  impression  that  he  did  not  believe  a  word 
that  he  was  translating.  He  suggested  to  the  mis- 
sionaries that  the  best  way  to  convert  the  Basutos 
was  to  thrash  them  well.  And  he  went  so  far  as  to 
offer  his  services,  saying:  "I  will  help  you,  and  you 
will  see  how  well  I  can  handle  the  whip."  By  and 
by  as  the  missionaries  learned  more  of  the  language, 
they  detected  his  tricks,  and  soon  sent  him  off. 

The  missionaries  began  their  religious  services  by 
reciting  stories  from  the  Bible,  and  finally  composed 
several  hymns.  This  captivated  the  Basutos,  for  sing- 
ing was  a  new  art  to  them,  and  they  joined  in  it 
with  great  gusto.  The  only  difficulty  the  mission- 
aries had  was  in  keeping  them  from  beating  time 
with  their  feet  with  all  their  might,  and  thus  making 
more  noise  than  music.  However  a  more  serious 
difficulty  arose  when  the  missionaries  began  prayer. 
For  as  long  as  the  natives  saw  that  the  missionary 
was  speaking  to  them,  they  would  keep  quiet ;  but 
when  he  was  no  longer  speaking  to  them,  they  felt 
under  no  obligation  to  listen.    Some  would  look  one 


82  Great  Missionaries  of 

way  and  others  another.  Some  would  gape  and 
others  begin  talking.  At  length  the  missionaries  hit 
on  the  plan  of  having  them  say  the  petitions  after 
them.  This  the  natives  liked,  as  they  were  fond  of 
hearing  their  own  voices. 

Casalis  and  his  companions  having  started  this 
little  settlement,  determined  that  they  would  make 
another  visit  to  Thaba  Bosiou  to  the  chief.  "Now," 
he  said,  "you  will  indeed  be  my  missionary.  Every 
time  you  come,  I  will  be  there  to  get  my  people  to 
listen  to  you."  The  king  kept  his  word.  Every  time 
the  missionary  arrived,  the  public  crier  mounted  the 
platform  near  the  king's  house,  where  the  gatherings 
of  the  tribe  were  held,  and  cried  with  all  his  power : 
"To  prayer,  everybody,  women  and  children  as 
well."  This  command  caused  great  commotion  and 
merriment  at  first ;  for  an  audience  to  which  women 
were  admitted  was  unknown.  Especially  the  young 
men  watched  to  see  what  the  matrons  and  maidens 
would  do.  The  women  first  sent  their  children, 
hoping  that  would  suffice.  But  Moshesh  was  inex- 
orable. "The  women,  where  are  they?"  he  asked. 
Finally  they  came ;  dazed,  yet  curious.  But  they 
stayed  at  the  entrance  of  the  enclosure  as  far  from 
the  speaker  as  possible,  where  they  squatted  and 


The  Reformed  Church.  83 

squeezed  together  like  a  flock  of  sheep,  taking  care 
to  turn  their  backs  to  the  meeting.  The  missionaries 
thus  found  not  only  a  field  of  labor,  but  also  a  church 
building  (of  its  kind)  at  their  disposal,  and  a  chief 
to  aid  them  by  his  example  and  influence. 

The  conversations  between  the  missionary  and 
the  chief  are  among  the  most  interesting  things 
which  M.  Casalis  has  placed  on  record,  and  gives  us 
a  pleasing  expression  of  the  intellectual  strength, 
penetration,  simplicity  and  candor  of  this  remark- 
able man.  We  quote  two  instances  which  remind 
us  of  Paul's  description  of  some  among  the  heathen 
in  his  days,  as  "feeling  after  God  if  happily  they 
might  find  him." 

"You  believe  then,"  said  the  king  one  evening  to 
the  missionary,  pointing  to  the  stars,  "that  in  the 
midst  and  beyond  all  these  there  is  an  all-powerful 
Master,  who  has  created  all,  and  is  our  Father  ?  Our 
ancestors  used,  in  fact,  to  speak  of  a  Lord  of 
Heaven,  and  we  still  call  these  great  shining  spots 
(the  Milky  Way),  you  see  above  you,  the  way  of 
the  gods ;  but  it  seemed  to  us  that  the  world  must 
have  existed  forever,  except,  however,  men  and 
animals,  who,  according  to  us,  have  had  a  beginning 
— animals  having  come  first  and  men  afterwards. 

7 


84  Great  Missionaries  of 

But  we  did  not  know  who  gave  them  existence.  We 
adored  the  spirits  of  our  ancestors,  and  we  asked  of 
them  rain,  abundant  harvests,  good  health,  and  a 
good  reception  amongst  them  after  death." 

"You  were  in  darkness,"  was  the  answer,  "and 
we  have  brought  you  the  Hght.  All  these  visible 
things,  and  a  multitude  of  others  which  we  cannot 
see,  have  been  created  and  are  preserved  by  a  Being, 
all-wise  and  all-good,  who  is  God  of  us  all,  and  who 
has  made  us  to  be  born  of  one  blood." 

Moshesh  was  greatly  struck  when  he  heard  the 
missionaries  enumerate  the  commandments  of  the 
Decalogue.  "That,"  said  he,  "is  written  in  all  our 
hearts.  We  did  not  know  the  God  you  announced 
to  us,  and  we  had  no  idea  of  the  Sabbath ;  but  in  all 
the  rest  of  your  law  we  find  nothing  new.  We 
knew  it  was  very  wicked  to  be  ungrateful  and  diso- 
bedient to  parents,  to  rob,  to  kill,  to  commit  adultery, 
to  covet  the  property  of  another,  and  to  bear  false 
witness." 

For  five  years  the  missionaries  labored  at  Moriah 
without  gaining  a  convert.  The  Basutos  were 
friendly,  but  not  willing  to  take  the  decisive  step. 
But  on  the  evening  of  January  9,  1836,  they  heard  a 
sound  near  their  hut  at  Moriah.    Going  out  they  dis- 


The  Reformed  Church.  85 

covered  one  of  their  young  men,  Sekhesa,  praying. 
As  they  listened  to  the  young  man's  prayer  of  con- 
secration, they  fell  on  their  knees  and  burst  into 
tears  of  joy  at  his  conversion.  Sekhesa  remained 
faithful  till  his  death  in  1881.  Some  weeks  after 
his  first  prayer  Arbousset  read  a  hymn  on  the  second 
coming  of  Christ.  The  poor  negro  with  beaming 
countenance  ejaculated :  "Blessed  be  His  name." 
Hundreds  of  Basutos  afterward  acknowledged  that 
their  first  religious  impressions  came  to  them  at  the 
time  when  Sekhesa  asked  the  Lord  to  make  him 
His  child. 

The  missionaries  finally  decided  that  so  important 
a  point  as  Thaba  Bosiou,  the  capital,  ought  not  to 
be  without  a  missionary.  So  Casalis  was  appointed 
to  locate  there.  He  did  not,  however,  set  up  his 
house  on  the  top  of  the  hill  on  which  the  town  was 
built,  but  at  its  base;  so  that  he  might  farm  the 
land  around  his  hut.  Becoming  lonely,  he  set  out 
for  Cape  Town  in  search  of  a  wife.  When  he  ar- 
rived there,  he  felt  very  awkward,  for  he  had  been  so 
long  in  the  wilderness  that  he  had  forgotten  what 
civilization  was,  and  felt  like  fleeing  and  hiding  him- 
self. 

When  Casalis  returned  to  his  first  station,  Moriah, 


86  Great  Missionaries  of 

he  found  that  the  presence  of  his  wife  created  quite 
a  sensation.  The  Basutos  had  never  seen  a  white 
woman  before.  At  first  they  hesitated  somewhat  to 
come  near,  but  soon  curiosity  got  the  better  of  them, 
and  they  approached  her.  They  indulged  in  all  man- 
ner of  remarks  about  her.  They  analyzed  her  fea- 
tures— admired  specially  the  smallness  of  her  mouth 
and  the  whiteness  of  her  skin.  Every  act  of  hers 
was  noted.  When  she  ate,  they  said  she  eats  like  a 
bird.  They  were  very  much  surprised  that  she  did 
not  go  out  with  her  husband  into  the  field  and  dig 
as  they  did.  But  they  thus  learned  that  Christians 
cared  for  their  wives,  and  did  not  make  slaves  of 
them  as  the  heathen  did.  The  effect  of  this  mar- 
riage was  that  the  female  part  of  the  population  at 
once  recognized  in  her  a  missionary  to  themselves, 
and  came  to  her  with  their  troubles  and  cares.  They 
began  to  flock  to  church.  For  since  Casalis'  wife 
went  to  church,  it  was  clear  to  them  that  a  woman 
had  a  soul  to  save. 

Casalis  and  his  wife  then  went  to  Thaba  Bosiou, 
June,  1838.  The  appearance  of  Mrs.  Casalis  at  the 
capital  created  the  same  sensation  that  it  had  done 
at  Moriah.  The  church  service  began  to  be  more 
largely  attended,  increasing  from  two  hundred  to 


The  Reformed  Church.  87 

four  hundred.  A  Sabbath  at  Thaba  Bosiou  was  a 
very  interesting  day.  At  ten  in  the  morning  Mos- 
hesh,  the  chief,  would  come  down  from  his  moun- 
tain capital  with  his  followers  to  service.  As  it 
would  have  been  wearisome  to  go  up  the  steep  moun- 
tain and  return  again  to  the  second  service,  they  re- 
mained on  the  plain,  spending  the  day  around  the 
missionaries'  house.  The  men  and  women,  old  and 
young,  tried  to  read  the  spelling  book  and  the  little 
catechism.  At  first  they  protested  that  the  black 
man  never  could  make  paper  speak.  Moshesh's 
father  was  a  superstitious  old  heathen,  and  ridiculed 
the  fact  that  they  could  learn  to  read.  "Lies,  lies," 
he  said.  "I  will  never  believe  that  a  word  can  be- 
come visible."  One  day  there  was  a  tremendous 
discovery  made  by  ten  or  twelve  of  them.  They  sud- 
denly discovered  that  they  could,  without  any  help, 
make  out  the  meaning  of  several  phrases  they  had 
never  read  before.  And  Moshesh's  skeptical  father 
was  stupefied  with  wonder.  When  once  the  Basutos 
had  begun  to  learn  to  read,  the  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  spread  rapidly.  During  the  revival  that  fol- 
lowed in  all  the  mission  stations,  twenty-seven  con- 
verts were  baptized,  and  forty-two  other  adults  soon 
followed  them. 


88  Great  Missionaries  of 

A  most  significant  conversion  was  that  of  Libe, 
the  uncle  of  Moshesh.  When  the  missionaries  first 
came,  although  he  was  a  man  of  eighty,  and  hover- 
ing over  the  grave,  he  urged  that  they  be  driven 
away.  Indeed  he  left  Thaba  Bosiou  partly  because 
he  wanted  to  get  away  from  the  influence  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. But,  although  he  forsook  them,  they  did 
not  forsake  him.  When  they  visited  him,  he  said: 
"Depart  from  me,  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 
you  and  your  God."  Sometime  after  that,  when 
Casalis  was  officiating  at  the  funeral  of  one  of  Libe's 
daughters  (whose  husband  happened  to  be  a  Chris- 
tain),  Libe  rushed  at  Casalis  in  rage.  Casalis  ex- 
pected nothing  else  but  that  he  would  have  to  de- 
fend himself.  Fortunately  Libe's  sons  rushed  to 
him,  imploring  him  to  stop.  Libe  refused.  And 
his  own  children  were  under  the  sad  necessity  of 
forcing  him  to  the  ground  and  holding  him  there 
during  the  entire  service.  Finally  when  Casalis 
again  passed  him,  Libe,  in  his  rage  and  helplessness, 
knocked  his  head  on  the  ground  again  and  again. 
But  God  can  save  to  the  uttermost.  And  one  day,  af- 
ter the  missionaries  had  discontinued  their  visits,  be- 
cause they  felt  that  they  only  angered  him,  they  were 
surprised  to  receive  an  invitation  to  go  and  see  him. 


The  Reformed  Church.  89 

The  messenger  who  brought  it  said,  with  his  face 
radiant  with  joy:  "Libe  prays.  Yesterday  Libe  sent 
to  my  hut  and  asked :  'Can  you  pray  ?  Kneel  down 
with  me  and  pray  God  to  have  mercy  on  the  greatest 
of  sinners.  Who  will  deliver  me  from  the  fire  that 
will  never  be  quenched?  Do  you  think  God  will 
pardon  me?  I  refused  to  go  and  hear  His  word 
when  still  able  to  walk.  Now  I  am  blind  and  almost 
deaf ;  how  can  I  serve  Jehovah  ?'  "  "Here,"  said  the 
messenger,  Libe  stopped  and  asked  me,  "have  you 
your  book  (the  Bible)  with  you?"  The  messenger 
said  he  had.  "Well,"  said  Libe,  "open  it  and  place 
my  finger  on  the  name  of  God.  The  messenger  said 
he  had  done  so.  "It  is  there,"  cried  Libe,  "the 
beautiful  name  of  God.  Now  place  my  finger  on 
that  of  Jesus,  my  Saviour."  Casalis  having  heard 
this  from  the  messenger,  hastened  to  Libe.  He 
found  him  penitent.  And  as  Casalis  repeated  his 
visits,  grace  made  him  as  docile  as  a  little  child.  In 
his  anxiety  to  be  saved,  Libe  generally  took  Casalis' 
hands  in  his,  and  putting  his  ear  close  to  Casalis' 
lips,  repeated  the  words  Casalis  uttered,  begging 
him  meanwhile  to  correct  him,  if  in  his  deafness  he 
made  a  mistake.  A  more  touching  sight  can  hardly 
be  imagined  than  this  blind,  deaf  heathen  thus  re- 


90  Great  Missionaries  of 

penting  of  his  past  sins,  and  seeking  Christ  and 
heaven.  How  Libe's  anxiety  to  be  saved  rebukes 
many  careless  ones  in  this  Christian  land.  Libe's 
baptism  attracted  a  large  crowd.  Five  aged  mem- 
bers of  the  church  carried  him  on  a  couch,  for  he 
was  too  feeble  to  move  alone.  Very  soon  after  his 
baptism  he  died.  His  grandson  asked  him  whether 
he  knew  it  was  the  Lord's  day.  He  replied,  "I  know 
it,  I  am  with  my  Lord."  And  in  a  few  moments  he 
fell  asleep,  to  be  with  his  Lord  forever. 

But  the  most  important  conversion  in  the  mission 
was  that  of  Moshesh,  the  chief.  He  was  a  most  re- 
markable, far-seeing  man — "the  most  original,  able 
and  upright  barbarous  chief  South  Africa  has  ever 
had,"  says  Orpen,  a  British  magistrate.  The  great- 
ness of  his  character  is  shown  by  an  illustration.  In 
1852  he  was  attacked  by  the  British.  Compelled  to 
defend  themselves,  the  Basutos  drove  the  British 
back.  They  planned  a  night  attack  when  the  worn- 
out  British  soldiers  would  probably  have  been  over- 
come, but  suddenly  an  order  came  from  Moshesh 
stopping  the  fight.  The  next  morning  Moshesh  sent 
a  messenger  to  the  English  commander  (Would  any 
conqueror  of  Europe  have  treated  an  enemy  so?) 
saying:  "Oh,  my  master,  I  am  still  your  man,  I  am 


The  Reformed  Church.  91 

still  a  child  of  the  Queen.  Sometimes  a  man  beats 
a  dog  and  the  dog  puts  his  teeth  in  his  hand  and 
gives  him  a  bite,  nevertheless,  the  dog  loves  the 
master  and  the  master  loves  the  dog  and  will  not 
kill  it.  I  am  ashamed  of  what  happened  yester- 
day. Let  it  be  forgotten."  The  British  could  not  re- 
fuse such  magnanimity.  They  at  once  made  peace, 
but  how  noble  was  Moshesh  in  being  the  first  to  ask 
for  peace. 

Moshesh  welcomed  the  missionaries  from  the  very 
beginning,  and  would  come,  Nicodemus-like,  to  visit 
Casalis  by  night  and  talk  about  this  new  religion. 
But,  like  Nicodemus,  he  postponed  decision.  He 
however  paid  great  attention  to  the  preaching,  and 
would  often  repeat  the  whole  sermon  and  explain  it 
point  by  point  to  the  people  who  did  not  understand 
it.  But  year  after  year  he  postponed  decision.  In 
1869,  as  he  was  getting  old,  Casalis  went  to  him  and 
urged  him  to  prepare  for  the  judgment.  He  wept 
and  prayed,  but  like  so  many,  could  not  make  up  his 
mind.  However  in  1870,  after  thirty-seven  years 
of  prayer  by  the  missionaries,  a  messenger  called  the 
missionaries  to  him,  for  he  was  ready.  His  descrip- 
tion of  his  conversion  was  given  in  a  very  simple- 
hearted  way,  just  as  the  heathen    would    express 


92  Great  Missionaries  of 

themselves.  Seeing  one  of  the  missionaries,  he  said 
to  him,  "How  old  is  your  baby?"  "Three  months," 
replied  the  missionary.  "Then,"  said  the  chief,  re- 
ferring to  his  new-birth,  "he  is  just  my  age.  I  have 
only  just  been  born.  It  is  only  now  that  I  begin  to 
be  a  man."  He  asked  to  be  allowed  to  see  this  child. 
His  eyes  filled  with  tears,  as  he  said :  "My  child,  you 
are  my  thaka  (one  of  the  same  age)  ;  you  have 
shown  me  the  way  I  shall  get  to  Jesus." 

The  day  before  his  death  he  sent  the  missionaries 
the  message :  "Tell  them  they  will  be  too  late."  And 
so  it  was,  for  he  was  to  have  been  baptized  on  Sun- 
day, but  died  on  Friday.  His  last  instructions  were : 
"Let  the  missionaries  not  be  weary  to  teach  my 
people,  and  especially  my  sons."  His  mind  seemed 
to  go  again  to  his  thaka  (the  missionary's  child),  as 
he  said :  "Kiss  also  that  child,  Thaka  Moshesh.  May 
he  grow  up  to  be  a  great  blessing  to  my  people." 
He  died  with  the  filial  cry :  "Let  me  go  to  my 
Father ;  I  am  already  very  near  Him.  Hold  me  up 
that  I  may  fly,"  and  his  spirit  went  up  to  its  God. 
Thus  died  in  Christian  hope  the  noblest  chieftain 
in  South  Africa. 

What  trophies  of  redeeming  grace  have  been  won 
there  for  Christ!     The  hope  is  that  through  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  93 

French  missionaries,  the  rich  temperament  and  ca- 
pacity which  distinguishes  the  Basutos  may  cause 
them  to  be  an  influential  factor  in  making-  the  Dark 
Continent  gain  Hght  under  the  rays  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness. 

Casahs,  to  the  sorrow  of  the  mission,  was  recalled 
to  France  in  1856,  where  he  became  director  of  the 
Paris  Missionary  Society,  and  head  of  its  training 
institute  for  missionaries.  He  lived  at  Paris  for 
many  years,  enthusing  the  home  church,  and  by  his 
knowledge  of  the  foreign  field,  aiding  the  Board  of 
the  Mission  Society.  The  French  government  finally 
came  to  see  the  greatness  of  his  work  and  honored 
him  with  the  title  of  "Knight  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor."    He  died  in  1893.* 


*"My  Life  in  Basutoland,"  by  Casalis,  published  by  the  Religious 
Tract  Society,  London,  ought  to  be  in  all  our  Sunday-school  li- 
braries. 


Chapter  III. 
ADOLPH  MABILLE. 
Another  great  missionary  of  the  French  Re- 
formed Church  in  Africa  was  the  Rev.  Adolph 
Mabille.  He  was  the  heart  and  centre  of  a  great 
work  which  Robert  Moffat  pronounced  the  most 
successful  of  all  missions. 

He  was  born  June  12,  1836,  at  Baulmes,  near 
Yverdon,  in  the  canton  of  Vaud,  Switzerland.  He 
was  a  precocious  boy.  Educated  at  Yverdon  and 
later  at  Basle,  he  was  ready  to  enter  the  Theological 
School  at  Lausanne  before  he  was  old  enough  to  be 
admitted.  He  therefore  traveled  in  Holland  and 
England,  and  in  1854  accepted  the  position  of  teacher 
of  French  in  a  Quaker  school  at  Kendal,  England. 
It  was  while  there  that  his  religious  experience  was 
greatly  deepened  and  that  the  missionary  call  came 
to  him.  One  day  an  agent  of  the  British  Bible 
Society  arrived  at  Kendal,  who  made  his  acquaint- 
ance. Seeing  the  rich  promise  in  the  young  man  he 
approached  him  on  the  subject  of  missions.  Striking 
him  on  the  shoulder,  he  asked  him  the  simple  but 
pointed  question :  "Young  man,  have  you  ever 
thought  of  the  millions  of  Chinese  who  die  without 

95 


96  Great  Missionaries  of 

a  knowledge  of  the  Saviour  ?"  The  question  went  to 
his  heart  Hke  an  arrow.  He  said :  "Behold !  I  come, 
Lord,  to  do  Thy  will." 

He  applied  to  the  Paris  Missionary  Society  and 
entered  their  mission  house  at  Paris  to  prepare  him- 
self for  foreign  mission  work  under  the  care  of 
Casalis.  His  desire  was  to  go  to  China,  to  which 
his  attention  had  been  called.  His  thoughts  and 
prayers  were  continually  for  that  country.  The 
committee  of  the  Missionary  Society  was  at  that 
time  disposed  to  send  missionaries  to  China,  and 
Mabille  would  have  been  sent,  being  well  fitted  by 
his  ability  and  experience  in  teaching.  But  as  he 
heard  Casalis  speak  so  often  and  lovingly  of  his  Ba- 
sutos,  and  fell  in  love  with  Adele,  the  daughter  of 
Casalis  whom  he  afterwards  married,  his  mind  was 
turned  to  Africa.  They  were  married  May  17,  1859. 
On  the  third  of  July,  1859,  amid  the  salvos  of  ar- 
tillery which  announced  in  Paris  the  victory  of  the 
French  over  the  Austrians  at  Solferino,  he  and 
another  missionary,  Germond,  were  ordained  in  the 
Church  of  the  Oratoire  at  Paris.  The  young  mis- 
sionary couple  afterwards  visited  Yverdon  and  Gen- 
eva. At  Geneva  his  visit  led  to  the  formation  of  a 
missionary  society  which  aided  him  to  found  his 


The  Reformed  Church.  97 

Bible   school   for   the  training    of    evangeUsts,    at 
Moriah,  in  South  Africa. 

Together  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Germond  they  sailed 
from  England  in  July,  1859,  ^"^  landed  at  Cape 
Town  October  30,  where  he  was  met  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Bisseaux.  After  resting,  they  started  forward  on 
their  long  journey  to  their  mission  station,  Betheu- 
lia,  where  they  arrived  January  12,  i860.  One  of 
his  first  impressions  was  that  of  astonishment  that 
the  missionaries  had  not  yet  translated  or  printed 
the  Bible  in  the  language  of  the  Basutos.  He  at 
once  set  'himself  about  doing  so.  He  did  not  under- 
stand the  language,  but  Dyke  dictated  to  him  and 
he  wrote  it  down.  They  began  with  the  book  of 
Joshua.  He  afterward  made  a  tour  of  the  various 
stations  of  the  mission.  He  attended  in  April  the 
Synod  of  the  mission  and  was  then  appointed  as  mis- 
sionary to  Moriah,  the  oldest  station.  He  and  his 
wife  arrived  there  June  7,  i860.  The  station  had  been 
greatly  devastated  by  the  Boers  in  the  war  of  1858. 
The  parsonage  had  been  burned  and  he  had  to  suffer 
great  inconvenience.  Besides,  the  membership  of  the 
mission  had  become  scattered.  His  progress  in  their 
language  had  by  this  time  become  so  great  that  on 
the  Sunday  after  his  installation  he  attempted  to 


98  Great  Missionaries  of 

preach  and  succeeded  fairly  well,  his  great  linguis- 
tic powers  aiding  him. 

His  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  the  former 
missionary,  Casalis,  gave  him  great  influence  over 
the  Basutos  who  loved  her  for  her  father's  sake. 
They  used  to  say  of  her:  "She  is  our  mother. 
She  was  born  in  our  land,  and  she  is  one 
of  us,  and  what  she  says  is  good."  She  was 
worthy  of  this  confidence ;  for  she  was  a  re- 
markable woman.  He  founded  a  normal  school  at 
Moriah  to  train  teachers.  While  its  organization 
was  being  considered,  who  should  arrive  at  the  mis- 
sion but  the  Rev.  Alexander  Dutf,  the  great  Scotch 
missionary  to  India,  and  the  originator  of  the  sys- 
tem of  educational  missions,  to  counsel  them.  This 
school  was  originally  begun  in  time  of  war.  As 
he  came  back  to  look  after  his  people  at  Moriah  he 
was  detained  there,  and  while  the  war  cloud  hung 
heavily  around  them  he  gathered  a  few  young  men 
and  taught  them  to  teach  others.  He  had  twenty 
students  at  first.  From  this  normal  school  a  sys- 
tem of  schools  spread  all  through  the  Basuto  tribe. 

But  he  was  a  pastor  as  well  as  a  teacher.  He  had 
twenty  stations  in  connection  with  his  mission  at 
Moriah.     Twice   a   year  their   members    came    to 


The  Reformed  Church.  99 

Moriah  for  the  Lord's  Supper.  These  were  scenes 
never  to  be  forgotten,  when  hundreds  of  the  Lord's 
followers  gathered  on  the  green  hillside  under  the 
shadow  of  the  great  mountains  around  and  sur- 
rounded the  Lord's  table  to  show  forth  his  death 
till  he  come.  His  membership  arose  from  234  in 
1 86 1  to  1692  in  1894.  His  scholars  arose  from  160 
in  i860  to  1306  in  1890,  and  906  in  1894.  He  also 
installed  a  press  at  Moriah.  In  1880  he  re-visited 
France,  so  as  to  publish  the  Bible  in  their  language, 
and  returned  with  a  new  printing  press.  On  it  he 
published  a  number  of  books,  as  the  Chants  of  Zion, 
a  book  of  sacred  song,  for  he  was  a  fine  musician 
and  splendid  singer.  He  also  published  a  pastoral 
theology,  Sessouto  Dictionary,  a  Biblical  Dictionary 
and  other  books.  This  printing  press  was  impor- 
tant because  by  it  250,000  of  the  Basutos  were 
reached.  A  Bible  for  the  Basutos  was  finally  pub- 
lished in  1882  as  the  result  of  his  work. 

The  normal  school  grew  into  a  school  of  evan- 
gelists in  1876.  The  first  student  soon  grew  into 
five  students.  In  two  years  he  had  twenty.  Many 
of  them  were  from  other  districts  in  South  Africa, 
as  the  Transvaal.  Thus  in  1878  ten  were  from  the 
Transvaal  and  two  from  Orange  Free  State,  five 

8 


loo  Great  Missionaries  of 

belonged  to  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,*  four  to 
the  Swiss  mission  and  one  to  the  BerHn  mission — 
more  strangers  than  from  the  Basutos.  This 
showed  the  popularity  of  his  school  and  the  ex- 
cellence of  its  course  of  study.  His  labors  were  in- 
cessant, as  he  began  teaching  at  6  a.  m.  He 
thoroughly  believed  in  educational  missions.  He 
said :  "Our  native  Christians  can  help  their  own 
people  better  than  we  missionaries  can." 

He  was  also  an  explorer  in  regions  beyond,  open- 
ing up  the  district  afterwards  taken  by  the  French 
Reformed  Mission  of  Switzerland.  He  prepared  for 
the  later  mission  of  Coillard  to  the  Zambesi  in  the 
north.  Together  with  Coillard  he  went  to  Europe 
and  pled  for  the  opening  of  a  new  mission  on  the 
Zambesi.  His  parish  would  frequently  be  swept 
with  wave  after  wave  of  God's  Spirit,  when 
he  dealt  very  wisely  with  those  under  conviction  of 
sin,  and  led  them  to  Christ.  He  was  very  earnest 
in  his  piety,  becoming  somewhat  inclined  to  the 
higher  life  theory.  The  visit  of  Major  Malan 
strengthened  this  in  him  for  a  time.  And  he  went 
with  Coillard  to  King  Williamstown  in  Cape  Colony 

•The  Boer5  have  not  been  considered  favorable  to  missions,  but 
this  church  has  had  a  successful  mission  at  Zoutpantburg,  for  many 
years,   Rev.   S.   Hofmeyer  being  the  missionary. 


The  Reformed  Church.  loi 

in  1875,  to  attend  sanctification  meetings  for  total 
deliverance  from  sin.  The  writings  of  Rev.  Andrew 
Murray,  the  Nestor  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
of  South  Africa,  strengthened  him  in  these  mild 
perfectionist  views. 

In  secular  affairs  he  was  much  tried.  The  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Paris  Society  were  placed  in  very 
difficult  positions  often,  because,  though  French, 
they  labored  in  British  territory.  They,  therefore, 
tried  to  avoid  all  political  complications,  but  oc- 
casionally they  were  compelled  to  take  part  in  them, 
although  they  did  so  with  great  reluctance.  Owing 
to  his  close  proximity  to  the  chief,  Letsie,  Mabille 
was  forced  to  occupy  himself  somewhat  with  secular 
affairs.  He  and  his  colleagues  took  an  honorable 
part  in  the  establishment  of  the  British  protectorate 
over  the  Basutos,  which  saved  them  from  entire 
destruction  at  the  hands  of  the  Boers.  But  during 
the  war  of  1 880-1 881  the  Cape  government  de- 
cided that  it  was  wise  to  make  all  the  blacks  give  up 
their  arms  into  the  hands  of  the  British  govern- 
ment. This  act  would  have  left  the  Basutos  utterly 
defenseless  and  at  the  mercy  of  hostile  whites.  Ma- 
bille openly  took  sides  against  this  order  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  mission.    He  wrote  about  it  to  a  lead- 


I02  Great  Missionaries  of 

ing  citizen  of  Cape  Colony,  to  the  prime  minister,  to 
the  governor.  Had  his  counsel  been  followed  the 
colony  would  have  been  saved  a  war  and  the  cost  of 
at  least  $15,000,000.  But  while  he  took  this 
ground  in  writing  to  the  English,  among  the 
Basutos  he  preached  peace,  condemning  the  re- 
course to  arms  as  unjustifiable.  Providentially  he 
was  in  Europe  when  the  war  broke  out.  His  efforts 
led  him  to  be  severely  criticized,  but  also  gained  him 
the  greatest  popularity  among  the  Basutos. 

In  all  this  he  reveals  his  intense  activity.  One  of 
his  fellow  missionaries  said  of  him :  "It  is  no  use 
to  relieve  Mabille  in  his  work,  for  as  soon  as  he  is 
relieved  in  one  thing  he  finds  something  else  to  do." 
His  severe  labors  finally  broke  down  his  health. 
His  work  as  pastor,  teacher,  preacher,  publisher, 
explorer,  proved  too  much  for  him.  Still  he  kept 
on.  The  Paris  Society  wanted  one  of  its  mission- 
aries to  go  with  Coillard  to  Bechuanaland ;  Mabille 
and  his  wife  went.  At  first  he  seemed  benefited  by 
this  journey.  He  attended  the  Basuto  conference 
in  April,  1894,  though  he  only  when  lying  on  a 
couch  could  be  present  at  the  meetings.  Then  he 
went  to  Leribe  where  his  son  was  stationed  as  evan- 
gelist.   He  returned  to  Moriah  May  10.     Although 


The  Reformed  Church.  103 

in  great  pain,  he  proceeded  with  the  examination  of 
candidates  for  admission  to  his  Bible  school. 

On  May  15  a  physician  arrived  and  examined 
him,  saying :  "It  is  grave,  very  grave."  Mabille  ex- 
pressed a  great  desire  to  live  so  that  he  might  revise 
the  Basuto  Bible.  He  had  just  finished  an  English- 
Basuto  Dictionary,  the  work  of  20  years.  When 
they  hesitated  to  tell  him  his  condition  he  insisted. 
When  told,  he  prayed  long.  Then  he  said :  "Lord, 
O  place  my  work  low ;  I  have  endeavored  to  labor, 
but  how  many  times  I  have  transgressed.  But  I 
shall  not  want,  thou  knowest  it."  On  May  17  he 
bade  farewell  to  his  friends.  On  the  19th  he  ad- 
mitted to  his  dying  bed  the  chief  of  the  Lessouto,  to 
whom  he  addressed  pressing  appeals  for  his  con- 
version and  for  temperance. 

Sunday,  May  20,  1894,  was  a  glorious  day,  full  of 
the  very  atmosphere  of  heaven.  The  early  hours  of 
the  day  he  spent  in  praying  for  each  of  his  catechists, 
schoolmasters,  elders  in  his  district,  about  150  in 
number,  and  for  the  students  of  the  Bible  school, 
who  were  that  day  at  religious  work.  When  those 
about  him  wondered  that  he  could  remember  names 
so  well  he  said :  "O,  you  know  I  have  prayed  for 
them  so  often  by  name."  When  he  heard  the  church 


104  Great  Missionaries  of 

bells  ring,  he  exclaimed :  "Glory,  glory  in  the  high- 
est heaven !"  and  then  said :  "Jesus,  I  am  also  one 
of  the  worshippers."  A  young  man  wanted  to  see 
him.  "Yes,"  he  said,  "let  him  in.  I  have  a  lovely 
message  for  him."  After  talking  earnestly  with 
him,  he  said :  "I  wish  I  could  impress  on  your  heart 
the  invitation  that  Christ  -is  your  Saviour."  After- 
wards he  clapped  his  hands  joyfully,  exclaiming: 
"Bravo !  they  are  going  to  reach  the  Zambezi,"  show- 
ing that  his  thoughts  were  with  Coillard  and  his 
distant  mission.  At  7.30  p.  m.  he  passed  to  rest. 
"At  eventide  it  shall  be  light," — his  labors  of  thirty- 
four  years  were  over,  and  he  had  gone  to  his  reward. 

His  funeral  was  very  large.  Everywhere  it  was 
felt :  "Knowest  thou  not  that  a  great  man  has  fallen 
in  Israel  ?"  In  the  cemetery  at  Moriah  is  a  plain  stone 
with  a  marble  slab  on  which  are  the  words :  "Adolph 
Mabille,  1836-94."  His  blessing  remained  in  his 
family.  All  of  the  children  became  Christians  and 
two  of  the  sons  and  two  of  the  daughters  became 
missionaries.  But  the  larger  blessing  remained  with 
the  mission,  whose  success  was  so  largely  due  to  the 
foundations  he  laid. 

Before  leaving  this  splendid  mission  of  the  Paris 
Society  among  the  Basutos  we  will  briefly  describe 


The  Reformed  Church.  105 

their  work.  A  most  fortunate  circumstance  for  the 
mission  was  the  fact  that  there  were  no  wars  in  Ba- 
sutoland  for  fifteen  years  up  to  1848.  This  period 
of  peace  was  very  favorable  to  the  mission.  The 
year  1848  was,  however,  a  very  trying  one.  On  ac- 
count of  the  revolution  in  France,  the  Mission  So- 
ciety became  so  impoverished  that  it  had  to  close 
its  mission  house  at  Paris,  and  the  missionaries  be- 
gan to  suffer.  But  in  its  need,  friends  in  the  colony 
in  Africa  who  had  seen  its  glorious  work,  nobly 
came  to  its  relief.  Indeed,  money  was  sent  unex- 
pectedly from  distant  lands,  as  Holland  and  India, 
to  help  them  tide  over  their  difficulties,  the  whole 
amount  being  $10,000.  The  next  year  Casalis  went 
back  to  France  and  stirred  the  churches  most  won- 
derfully with  his  tales  of  South  Africa  and  of  the 
wonders  of  mission  work.  Meanwhile  bitter  wars 
were  carried  on  between  the  Boers  and  the  English 
in  South  Africa.  The  British,  by  giving  up  Basuto- 
land  in  1855,  left  it  at  the  mercy  of  the  Boers.  In 
two  of  the  wars  Moshesh,  the  Basuto  chief,  lost 
part  of  his  territory,  so  that  four  of  the  mission  sta- 
tions had  to  be  given  up.  And  yet  there  was  a  bless- 
ing in  it  all.  How  often  afflictions  are  blessings.  As 
in  Madagascar,  so  in  Basutoland ;  when  the  mission- 


io6  Great  Missionaries  of 

aries  were  driven  out  and  war  and  famine  prevailed, 
then  the  Church  was  revived.  The  season  from 
1865  to  1868  was  a  time  of  wonderful  revival.  The 
result  was  that  by  the  end  of  the  war  all  the 
congregations  were  largely  increased. 

During  that  war  the  Christians  of  Moriah,  like 
those  referred  to  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews 
fled  to  the  caves  and  dens  in  the  mountain  above 
their  home.  There,  for  three  years,  more  than  300 
Christians  were  preserved.  Morning  and  evening 
they  prayed  and  sang  praises.  Their  enemies  heard 
them,  but  no  cannon  ball  could  reach  them.  Phile- 
mon, the  schoolmaster  of  Moriah,  was  raised  up  of 
God  to  be  their  pastor  in  the  caves.  For  three 
years  he  watched  over  this  large  congregation,  num- 
bering about  800  souls.  As  they  had  not  much  to 
do,  much  time  was  spent  in  preaching  and  prayer. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  Philemon  brought  100 
converts  for  baptism.  In  all  there  were  436  candi- 
dates for  admission  at  Moriah  after  the  war. 
Philemon  was  a  true  apostle,  putting  many  lazy 
Christians  in  Christian  lands  to  shame.  After  the 
war,  famine  and  then  typhus  fever  came.  Phile- 
mon was  devoted  in  attending  to  the  sick,  until  he 
finally  caught  the  disease.    His  dying  was  beautiful. 


The  Reformed  Church.  107 

He  was  asked  whether  he  would  like  to  go  to  his 
Lord.  He  replied :  "Yes,  very  much."  When  asked 
if  he  would  like  to  remain  and  work  for  the  Lord, 
he  replied :  "Yes,  very  much."  Living  or  dying,  he 
wished  to  be  the  Lord's.  And  just  before  he 
breathed  his  last,  what  did  he  do  but  give  a  sign  for 
the  whistle,  with  which  for  three  years  he  had  called 
the  churches  in  the  dens  to  prayer  and  praise.  He 
put  it  to  his  mouth  and  tried  to  sound  it  once  more 
before  he  died.  A  faithful  watchman  he  was  to  the 
very  last. 

The  results  of  this  mission  have  been  most  grati- 
fying. From  a  temporal  point  of  view  the  arrival  of 
the  missionaries  proved  to  be  the  salvation  of  the 
Basutos.  The  country  in  18 13  was  almost  uninhab- 
ited, but  it  is  now  covered  with  hamlets  surrounded 
by  fields  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  Had  the  Ba- 
sutos remained  heathen,  they  would  have  been  cut 
off  by  the  wars  or  have  killed  each  other  off.  Now 
they  have  peace  and  civilization.  But  the  results 
spiritually  have  been  even  greater.  Although  the 
wars  compelled  the  society  to  give  up  five  stations, 
and  to  centre  their  efforts  on  Basutoland,  they  still 
have  thirteen  principal  stations  and  129  out-stations, 
with  day  schools  scattered  all  through  the  country. 


io8  Great  Missionaries  of 

having  8,000  children  in  them.  In  1888,  out  of  a 
population  of  200,000,  25,000  were  adherents  of  the 
mission  and  35,000  were  under  Christian  influences. 
At  present  there  are  12,676  communicants,  and 
11,626  pupils  in  the  schools.  Their  worship  is  the 
same  as  in  the  French  Protestant  Churches,  which 
are  prevailingly  Reformed. 

This  Paris  Society  also  opened  other  mission  sta- 
tions. When  the  French  gained  the  Society  Is- 
lands in  the  South  Pacific,  where  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  had  had  a  successful  mission,  the 
latter  turned  its  mission  over  to  the  Paris  Society, 
and  there  are  now  about  4,000  members  and  1,800 
scholars.  And  in  1887  the  American  Presbyterian 
mission  turned  over  its  missions  on  the  Gaboon  and 
Ogove  rivers  to  them,  because  they  were  in  French 
territory.  Still  the  Basuto  mission  has  always  re- 
mained the  most  important.  Many  are  its  trophies. 
One  was  Makoniane,  Moshesh's  Marshal  Ney.  He 
who  planned  the  Basuto  empire  now  sits  at  the  feet 
of  Jesus,  confessing  Him.  But  the  most  important 
was  the  conversion  of  Moshesh,  the  Basuto  chief, 
over  whose  tomb  should  be  inscribed :  "Thy  gentle- 
ness made  thee  great."  The  society  has  pushed  out 
northward  on  the  Zambesi  where,  after  years  of 
discouragement,  they  gained  their  first  convert  in 


The  Reformed  Church.  109 

1892,  and  now  the  king  Lewanika  begins  to  show  in- 
terest in  Christianity. 

The  importance  of  the  work  done  by  this  French 
mission  cannot  be  over-estimated.  Why  was  the 
Gospel  more  successful  among  the  Basutos  than 
among  the  Zulu  tribes  of  South  Africa?  Because, 
as  Malan  says,  the  Gospel  was  preached  to  them  be- 
fore the  white  man  had  entered  their  territory  even 
for  trade.  But  it  was  preached  to  the  Zulus  after 
they  had  been  at  war  with  the  Dutch  settlers.  The 
Basutos  knew  nothing  of  the  evils  accompanying 
European  occupation.  The  chief  of  the  Basutos  did 
everything  to  encourage  the  Gospel  but  the  chief 
of  the  Zulus  did  everything  for  a  long  time  to  hin- 
der it.  Another  reason  for  its  spread  was  the  fact 
that  the  Basutos  are  a  gentle  race  compared  with 
the  Zulus. 

For  they  have  evangelized  the  most  hopeful  of 
the  South  African  tribes,  the  Basutos,  whose  rich 
capacity  for  improvement  will  make  them  a  power 
for  evangelizing  the  dark  continent.  France  is  now 
one  of  the  largest  land-owners  in  Africa,  especially  in 
the  north,  although  she  has  possessions  in  the  south. 
In  view  of  this,  the  importance  of  the  FreiK:h  mis- 
sion becomes  much  greater.  She  is  the  crown  jewel 
in  the  old  Huguenot  Church. 


f  -    '--'''^^^c^ 


Chapter  IV. 

FRANCIS  AND  CHRISTINA  COILLARD 
The  greatest  living  missionary  of  the  French  Re- 
formed Church  is  Francis  Coillard.  He  was  born 
July  17,  1834,  at  Asnieres  des  Bourges,  France. 
After  suffering  various  hardships  in  his  early  life, 
he  at  last  attained  his  long  desire  to  be  a  missionary 
and  was  admitted  to  the  Mission  House  at 
Paris.  After  pursuing  the  usual  course  there  he 
was  ordained  May  24,  1857.  After  laboring  in  the 
Basuto  mission  for  several  years,  he  was  married 
in  1861  to  Miss  Christina  Mcintosh.  As  she  is 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  missionary  heroines 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  we  will  pause  on  her  life. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  a  Scotch  clergyman, 
having  been  born  at  Greenock,  Scotland,  November 
29,  1829.  When  a  girl  she  had  great  love  for  mis- 
sions, as  she  had  subscribed  out  of  her  pocket 
money  to  a  missionary  paper,  and  her  heart  beat 
with  indignation  at  seeing  Sarah  Roby,  a  poor  child 
who  had  been  buried  alive  by  her  heathen  parents, 
but  fortunately  rescued  by  a  missionary  and  who 
was  taken  all  over  the  British  Isles  as  a  proof 
of  the   pagan   horrors.      In    1855    Miss    Mcintosh 


112  Great  Missionaries  of 

gave  lessons  in  Paris,  where  she  met  Mr. 
Coillard  while  studying  at  the  Mission  House.  Four 
years  after  his  departure  for  Africa  she  followed 
him  thither.  She  was  a  spiritually  minded  woman 
and  a  great  aid  to  her  husband.  "Never,"  she  said, 
"never  will  you  find  me  between  you  and  duty. 
Wherever  you  have  to  go,  be  it  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  T  shall  follow  you."  How  wonderfully  and 
nobly  she  carried  this  out. 

At  first  they  were  located  at  Leribe  among  the 
Basutos  where,  after  a  year's  work,  they  rejoiced 
over  two  converts.  But  their  work  had  its  diffi- 
culties. One  of  the  chiefs,  Molapo,  the  son  of 
Moshesh  the  king,  had  backslidden  from  Christian- 
ity and  greatly  oppressed  the  Christians.  Yet 
Coillard  would  talk  to  him  faithfully  about  his 
soul.  Even  when  living  in  sin  (for  he  became  a  po- 
lygamist),  it  is  said  he  never  would  retire  at  night 
without  reading  his  Bible  and  praying.  At  times 
his  spiritual  struggles  were  so  great  as  to  almost 
destroy  his  reason,  when  he  would  flee  to  the  moun- 
tains and  hide  in  a  cave. 

One  day  Coillard  tried  to  rouse  his  memory  by 
asking :  "Tell  me,  what  did  you  feel  when  you  were 
converted."     "My  pastor,"  he  said,  "it  was  not  an 


The  Reformed  Church.  113 

illusion  of  the  imagination.  There  was  a  fire  that 
devoured  me.  I  could  not  hold  it  in ;  but  now,"  he 
added  in  a  tone  of  bitte^^  sadness,  "it  has  all  gone 
out — there  is  nothing  left  but  a  heap  of  ashes."  He 
died  as  he  had  lived — away  from  God,  although  his 
last  act  at  dying  was  to  ask  that  the  missionaries  be 
sent  for.    But  they  came  too  late. 

War  also  came  and  devastated  their  district.  In 
1865  he  was  driven  out  by  the  Boer  war.  So  hasty 
was  their  departure  that  Mrs.  Coillard  did  not  have 
time  to  take  the  bread  that  she  was  baking  oirt  of  the 
oven.  Their  church  bell,  packed  carelessly  in  a  wagon 
in  their  haste,  sounded  a  funeral  knell  all  along  the 
road.  They  were  told  they  would  never  be  allowed 
to  return,  but  they  did  return  after  the  three  years' 
war  was  over.  They  then  found  their  church  build- 
ing in  ruins.  But  most  remarkable,  they  found  that 
the  congregation  had  grown  in  their  absence  and  in 
spite  of  the  war  to  fifty,  due  to  the  evangelist  who 
remained.  Their  membership  continued  to  grow 
so  that  when  in  1876  the  Basuto  synod  met  at 
Leribe,  the  attendance  was  so  great  that  some  of 
them  had  to  sleep  in  the  caves  of  the  surrounding 
mountains. 

But   Providence   was   preparing   Coillard    for   a 


114  Great  Missionaries  of 

greater  mission  than  among  the  Basutos.  The  Ba- 
sutos  learned  that  a  large  tribe  up  the  Zambezi 
river  speaking  their  language  was  destitute  of  the 
Gospel.  They  determined  to  send  it  to  them.  In 
1874  one  of  the  evangelists,  Asher,  was  ordered 
to  visit  the  Banyai  tribe  farther  north.  He  came 
back  with  a  most  eloquent  plea  for  missionaries  for 
them.  He  said:  "Ah,  why  could  I  not  cut  off  my 
arms  and  legs  and  make  every  limb  of  mine  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  Banyai?"  He  reported  that  three  of 
the  chiefs  had  already  offered  sites  for  mission  sta- 
tions. 

His  address  was  electric  in  its  effect.  At  one 
memorial  meeting  an  old  man  rose  and  said,  "We've 
had  enough  of  talking.  Let  us  do  something,"  and 
going  to  the  communion  table  he  laid  upon  it  half  a 
crown.  The  whole  congregation  followed  his  ex- 
ample and  the  movement  spread  to  other  stations. 
After  the  custom  of  the  French  churches  to  give 
some  offering  on  Communion  Sunday,  they  came 
one  communion  day, — men,  women  and  children, 
and  even  babes  at  their  mother's  breasts,  were  gath- 
ered at  the  sacred  table  to  lay  upon  it  their  offer- 
ings for  this  new  mission.  In  a  short  time  $2,500 
was  raised,  not  counting,  cattle  large  and  small,  that 


The  Reformed  Church.  115 

were  offered.  The  Missionary  Conference  could  no 
longer  hesitate.  They  chose  four  men  to  go.  This 
was  a  beautiful  illustration  of  converted  heathen 
sending  the  Gospel  to  convert  the  heathen. 

It  happened  that  just  at  that  time  Major  Malan, 
a  grandson  of  the  famous  Rev.  C?esar  Malan,  of 
Geneva,  who  had  resigned  his  commission  in  the 
British  army  to  do  soldier  work  for  the  Captain  of 
our  salvation,  visited  these  French  missions  of 
South  Africa.  This  visit  led  to  a  wonderful  spiritual 
uplift  in  the  mission.  One  day  in  crossing  the  river 
Kei,  when  they  had  climbed  up  its  slope,  overcome 
with  an  irresistible  impulse,  Malan  says :  "We  all 
sprang  from  our  horses,  knelt  in  the  shadow  of  the 
bush — I  still  see  it  before  me — then  taking  ourselves 
as  witnesses  we  offered  ourselves  individually  to  the 
new  mission,  an  act  of  deep  solemnity  which  made 
us  all  brothers  in  arms."  Immediately  we  remounted, 
Major  Malan  spurred  his  horse,  galloped  up  the  hill, 
and  called  out :  "Three  soldiers  ready  to  conquer 
Africa."  This  was  the  true  beginning  of  the  Barotsi 
mission  on  the  Zambesi. 

A  newly  arrived  missionary,  Dieterlen,  was  sent 
to  the  new  field  in  1875,  only  to  be  arrested  and  im- 
prisoned by  the  Boers  and  the  expedition  broken 
9 


ii6  Great  Missionaries  of 

up.  But  Coillard  rose  above  the  danger,  "Even  if 
their  missionary  had  been  imprisoned,"  he  said, 
"the  Gospel  entered  Europe  by  a  prison.  Forward ! 
Forward!"  As  a  result  just  at  the  time  when  he 
and  his  wife  were  preparing  to  take  a  much  needed 
rest  in  France,  after  ten  years'  absence,  the  mis- 
sionary conference  asked  him  to  go  on  an  explor- 
ing expedition  to  the  Banyai.  Hard  as  it  was  to 
give  up  their  long-cherished  plans,  they  started 
April,  1877,  accompanied  by  several  native  evangel- 
ists. They  soon  found  themselves  in  most  perilous 
situations.  Soon  after  they  came  to  a  border  chief 
of  the  Banyai  named  Masonda.  At  his  invitation 
they  visited  his  capital  where  they  found  themselves 
surrounded  by  threatening  blacks  and  unable  to 
escape.  A  plot  was  laid  to  kill  them.  Coillard 
and  his  wife  were  being  led  by  some  of  these  na- 
tives, one  of  them  taking  Mrs.  Coillard's  arm,  along 
slippery  rocks,  when  one  of  the  evangelists  said, 
"Where  are  they  leading  our  mother?"  Coillard 
looked  up  and  saw  before  them  an  abyss.  He 
seized  his  wife  and  tore  her  from  the  hands  of  the 
savages  and  then  succeeded  in  making  their  way 
back  to  the  camp.  But  they  learned  later  that  the 
chief  had  planned  to  throw  them  all  over  the  preci- 


The  Reformed  Church.  117 

pice.  With  great  difficulty,  though  surrounded  by 
armed  savages  for  several  days,  they  at  last  suc- 
ceeded ill  escaping  from  this  chief.  At  one  time  as 
the  savages  pressed  so  closely  on  the  caravan,  Coil- 
lard  could,  with  difficulty,  prevent  his  company 
from  shooting,  which  would  only  have  resulted  in 
a  massacre  of  them  all.  At  another  time  another 
chief,  Chibi,  would  have  murdered  him,  if  his  faith- 
ful evangelist  had  not  thrown  himself  between  Coil- 
lard  and  the  knife. 

A  few  weeks  after  leaving  the  treacherous  Mas- 
onda,  they  were  seized  by  an  armed  caravan  and 
carried  to  Lobengula,  the  king  of  the  Matabele 
tribe,  who  kept  them  prisoners  for  four  months.  He 
treated  them  with  kindness,  but  was  angered  that 
they  had  entered  his  territory  without  his  knowl- 
edge. He  finally  refused  to  allow  them  to  settle  in 
his  land,  and  sent  them  out  of  it.  Thus  their  mis- 
sion to  the  Banyai  had  been  refused.  Discouraged 
and  driven  out,  they  went  to  the  Barotsi  tribe 
who  spoke  the  same  language  as  the  Basutos.  There 
they  were  gladly  received  by  the  border-clans  of  the 
tribe.  Livingston  had  been  among  them  and  had 
left  the  name  of  missionary  in  good  odor.  Coillard 
said  he  felt  not  a  little  humiliated  at  being  continu- 


Ii8  Great  Missionaries  of 

ally  called  by  them  "Doctor,"  as  they  had  done  to 
Livingston.  He  says :  "Thus  it  is  that  the  first  mis- 
sionary that  comes  along  is  invested  with  the  boots 
of  this  giant." 

At  Shesheke  he  evangelized  with  success  among 
them  as  he  could  speak  their  language  and  they 
were  cjuite  receptive  to  the  Gospel.  But  one  after 
another  his  evangelists  died.  "Their  tombs,"  he 
said,  "shall  be  the  finger-posts  to  point  the  way  for 
the  new  missions."  While  staying  there  Major 
Serpo  Pinto,  the  Portuguese  explorer,  sent  by  Por- 
tugal to  ofTset  the  increasing  power  of  England  in 
Africa,  came  to  them  in  utter  destitution  and  sick 
with  the  fever.  Mrs.  Coillard  nursed  him  to  health 
and  the  explorer  pays  a  fine  tribute  to  them  and 
their  work  in  his  book.  During  this  expedition  the 
caravan  was  attacked  by  lions.  Water  was  scarce, 
and  Mr.  Coillard  suffered  much  from  fever,  and 
both  himself  and  his  wife  were  greatly  worn  out 
when  they  at  last  returned  to  the  Basutos.  They 
had  reached  in  two  years  the  Barotsi  tribe  on  the 
Upper  Zambesi  river,  a  journey  of  i,ooo  miles 
through  the  dense,  wild  wilderness.  He  had  pene- 
trated as  far  as  the  north  bank  of  the  Zambesi,  but 
the  rainy  season  prevented  further  progress,  although 


AFADAMI-:  C.   COILLARD. 


The  Reformed  Church.  119 

the  king  of  the  Barotsi  had  invited  them.  Consider- 
ing her  sex,  Mrs.  Coillard's  journey  was  as  great  as 
any  of  Stanley's  in  Africa. 

But  although  their  journey  seemed  fruitless,  yet 
it  gave  the  inspiration  for  the  founding  of  a  new 
mission.  They  brought  the  news  to  the  Basutos  that 
away  up  north,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Zambesi 
river,  was  a  tribe  that  spoke  their  language.  Were 
they  not  therefore  responsible  to  carry  the  gospel 
to  them,  especially  as  they  had  so  cordially  received 
the  missionaries?  But  the  Reformed  Church  of 
France  was  at  that  time  too  weak  to  undertake  the 
great  work  of  founding  a  new  mission.  For  this 
reason  Coillard  did  what  he  had  hoped  to  do  two 
years  before.  He  and  his  wife  went  home  to  France 
January,  1880,  after  an  absence  of  22  years,  having 
labored  at  Leribe  20  years.  They  spent  two  years 
in  Europe  travelling  everywhere  in  the  interest  of 
the  new  mission.  With  great  eloquence,  but  with 
great  humbleness,  he  plead  for  this  new  work.  The 
fragility  of  his  body,  which  the  Zambesi  fever  had  al- 
most burned  up,  gave  increased  power  to  his  words. 
He  traveled  through  France,  Switzerland,  Holland, 
Belgium,  everywhere,  at  mission  meetings  and  con- 
ferences, presenting  his  cause.     His  wife  was  also 


120  Great  Missionaries  of 

indefatigable  in  aiding  him,  and  merited  more  than 
ever  the  beautiful  pronoun  "we,"  which  he  was 
wont  to  use  of  her  in  his  letters. 

In  August,  1882,  they  returned  to  Leribe  in  Af- 
rica, alas,  to  find  the  church  devastated  and  scattered 
by  war.  Six  months  were  required  to  bring  order 
out  of  chaos. 

Finally  on  January  2,  1884,  they  started  for  the 
new  field  on  the  Zambesi,  with  six  wagons  drawn 
by  oxen.  What  faith  it  required  to  make  so  long  a 
journey  into  the  wilderness !  There  were  wild 
beasts  to  be  feared  and  sickness  far  from  help,  and 
wilder  men,  worse  than  beasts.  Though  near  the 
tropics  it  became  so  cold  at  night  that  one  of  them 
said  humorously :  "There  aren't  any  tropics ;  I  don't 
believe  in  them,"  as  he  muffled  himself  in  his  cloak. 
And  Coillard  says:  "Every  one  laughed  and  that 
warmed  them  up."  He  found  that  the  Jesuits  had 
already  established  themselves  in  that  country,  but 
in  the  providence  of  God  they  were  soon  compelled 
to  leave.  The  farther  he  traveled,  the  darker,  mor- 
ally, Africa  seemed.  He  says :  "A  historian  speaking 
of  George  IV.  has  said  that  if  he  had  been  stripped 
of  all  his  waistcoats  in  which  he  had  a  mania  for 
muffling  himself,  you  might  have  searched  in  vain 


The  Reformed  Church.  121 

for  a  man.  I  can  say  the  same  of  the  Zambesians. 
I  beheve  that  under  the  pile  of  all  that  is  hideous 
in  paganism  we  shall  find  men,  and  men  whom  we 
can  love." 

By  October  17  he  had  come  to  Leshoma,  south 
of  the  Zambesi,  where  Mrs.  Coillard  remained  while 
he  went  ahead  to  explore.  His  photographs  created 
quite  an  excitement.  He  had  to  show  them  his  sun 
(his  watch),  and  then  a  mirror,  which  the  young 
women  never  forget.  He  says :  "An  old  woman, 
who  could  not  believe  that  his  whole  body  was  as 
white  as  his  face,  on  seeing  his  bare  arm,  cried  out 
in  a  tone  of  compassion  that  quite  touched  me :  'It  is 
possible !     He  is  like  a  new  born  child.'  " 

He  appeared  before  the  court  at  Lealuyi  and  was 
cordially  welcomed,  though  the  prime  minister, 
Gambella,  said:  "We  have  yellow  hearts  (of  envy), 
and  our  country  is  full  of  blood,"  which  indeed 
proved  only  too  true.  Because  Coillard  and  his 
evangelist,  Aaron,  spoke  the  Sessuto  language,  the 
language  of  the  Basutos  and  also  of  this  tribe,  it 
gave  them  great  popularity.  He  returned  to  Lesh- 
oma where  his  wife  had  meanwhile,  in  the  face  of 
sickness  labored  hard  in  forming  a  school.  He  said 
of  her :  "Are  there  many  women  who  would  thus 


122  Great  Missionaries  of 

deprive  themselves  of  the  aid  and  advice  of  their 
husbands  in  such  isolations  and  under  such  burdens 
of  responsibilities  ?" 

On  August  14,  1885,  the  party  left  Leshoma  and 
crossed  the  Zambesi  to  Shesheke  where  they  arrived 
December  12,  after  a  journey  of  1,000  miles  from 
Basutoland.  There  for  a  time  they  established 
their  mission.  Coillard  then  started  for  the  capital, 
Lealuyi,  where  he  held  the  first  service. 

The  king  Lewanika,  received  him  kindly,  but  be- 
gan to  reveal  his  selfish  nature.  The  king  said  he 
wanted  to  ask  him  for  all  sorts  of  things — candles, 
coffee,  medicine.  Coillard  replied  that  he  was  not 
a  trader.  The  king  said:  "And  if  I  want  shirts,  a 
hat  and  shoes,  you  will  have  to  get  them  for  me." 
Coillard  replied  that  he  could  not.  And  the  king 
was  very  much  astonished,  for  all  the  white  men  he 
had  seen  before  were  traders  and  he  had  fleeced 
them  at  his  pleasure.  The  king,  however,  permitted 
him  to  hold  service  in  his  capital  and  attended  it. 
Coillard  then  went  back  and  brought  his  wife  and 
caravan,  January  10,  1887,  to  Sefula,  300  miles  fur- 
ther, in  the  heart  of  the  Barotsi  country  and  not 
very  far  from  Lealuyi,  where  he  permanently  lo- 
cated the  mission.     When  they  arrived  there  was 


The  Reformed  Church.  123 

great  excitement  at  Sefula.  Men  wrapped  in  long 
strips  of  calico  bound  round  the  waist  by  bands  of 
serpent  skins  and  with  white  and  down  rabbit  tails  in 
their  hair,  women  in  still  larger  numbers,  with  their 
short  petticoats  of  antelope  hides  and  copper  and 
ivory  bracelets  dangling  on  their  wrists  and  knees,  all 
were  hastening  to  see  that  extraordinary  phenom- 
enon— a  white  lady.  The  air  resounded  with  clap- 
ping of  hands  and  shouts  of  "  Hail,  hail,  lord,  good 
day,  O  our  mother!" 

At  the  end  of  a  ten  years'  wandering  he  at  last 
founded  his  new  mission.  He  at  once  began  ser- 
vices in  the  open  air  which  he  thus  describes :  "Yes- 
terday (February  27),  we  had  150  auditors.  But  it 
is  difficult  in  the  open  air  to  hold  these  restless 
spirits  captive.  It  may  be  the  wind,  the  rain  or  the 
sun.  It  may  be  a  bird  flying  past,  a  fowl  cackling, 
or  dogs  barking  or  fighting.  The  people  greet  each 
other  during  the  service,  they  chat,  laugh,  take 
snuff,  come  and  go.  Still,  sometimes  they  listen. 
Yesterday  I  riveted  their  attention  by  the  story  of 
the  deluge,  and  closed  by  describing  the  deluge  of 
fire,  prophesied  by  Peter,  and  appealed  to  the  audi- 
ence: "Where  will  you  flee  from  the  wrath  of 
God?"  Some  of  them  good-naturedly  called  out  to 
him,  "To  thee,  O  missionary,  our  father." 


124  Great  Missionaries  of 

They  opened  a  school  March  4,  holding  it  under 
the  trees,  the  lessons  in  writing  being  given  on  the 
sand.  It  began  with  20  scholars,  the  king  sending 
two  of  his  sons  and  five  of  his  nephews.  The 
pupils  lived  at  the  expense  of  the  public,  and  Coil- 
lard  had  stolen  by  them  some  of  his  valuable  ba- 
rometers as  well  as  his  poultry  and  sheep.  But  he 
had  to  bear  it  without  complaint.  Finally  the  school 
broke  up  (February,  1888),  because  the  novelty 
was  over  and  the  boys  had  to  go  on  fighting  expe- 
ditions. He  was,  however,  surprised  to  learn  that 
the  king,  heathen  that  he  was,  ordered  Sunday 
to  be  observed  while  on  these  expeditions,  for 
the  king  had  been  a  regular  attendant  at  his  ser- 
vices. But,  sad  to  say,  the  king,  in  order  to  do  this, 
had  forced  away  from  Coillard  two  of  his  best 
young  men  who  were  inquirers  after  religion,  but 
who  then  fell  away  from  him  under  the  king's  influ- 
ence. The  king  made  these  two  teach  him  to  read 
and  even  made  them  hold  public  services  by  pray- 
ing, singing  and  preaching.  Yet  their  immoral  life 
made  it  only  a  scandal.  On  November  14,  1887, 
Coillard  had  begun  his  class  of  catechumens,  two  in 
number,  one  a  boy  of  great  promise,  Nguana- 
Ngombe,  whom  he  found  praying  in  the  thickets. 


The  Reformed  Church.  125 

and  asking :  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  He  later 
became  the  first  baptized  convert,  May  25,  1890. 

In  October,  1888,  the  school  began  again  with 
48  pupils  of  whom  Litia,  the  king's  son,  was  the 
leader.  Coillard  also  approached  the  king  on  his 
return  from  his  expeditions :  "When  will  you  be- 
come a  believer?"  "When  I  know  how  to  read," 
was  his  reply.  "Why  should  you  wait?  Has  not 
your  conscience  told  you  you  have  done  much 
evil  ?"  The  king  hung  his  head.  "Ah,"  he  sighed, 
"it  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  a  king."  Coillard  then 
prayed  with  him.  But  still  he  was  obdurate.  He, 
however,  became  a  total  abstainer,  and  of  his  own 
accord  forbade  the  manufacture,  sale  and  drinking 
of  beer  in  his  kingdom — a  lesson  for  Christian  coun- 
tries. He  later  tried  to  stop  slavery  also.  Coillard 
was  more  hopeful  of  the  king's  son,  Litia,  who  was 
hungry  for  learning  and  had  considerable  ability. 
Litia's  faith  gradually  was  undermined  in  the 
heathen  superstitions.  When  one  of  the  princes  was 
ill  and  the  mother  ordered  him  to  sacrifice  at  the  an- 
cestors' tombs  for  his  recovery,  Litia  replied :  "I  am 
no  longer  in  darkness,  I  no  longer  pray  to  the  dead." 
Coillard  frequently  would  say:  "I  do  not  see  why 
Litia  does  not  become  an  open  Christian,  for  God's 
grace  is  evidently  working  in  his  heart." 


126  Great  Missionaries  of 

The  king  in  1891  sent  Litia  to  Basutoland  to  the 
French  school  there  at  Moriah,  but  he  soon  came 
suddenly  back  and  startled  Coillard  by  saying :  "My 
father,  I  am  no  longer  the  old  Litia.  I  am 
converted  and  have  found  Christ."  It  seems  that 
Litia  had  come  under  the  influence  of  a  Christian 
chief,  Khama,  in  that  southern  land  and  came  home 
wanting  to  be  like  him. 

Litia's  conversion  proved  a  great  comfort  to  Mrs. 
Coillard.  Ever  since  she  had  come  to  the  land  of 
the  Barotsis  her  health  had  been  failing.  When  the 
girls'  school  was  started  in  addition  to  the  boys' 
school,  the  king  placed  so  many  daughters  and  their 
servants  in  it  that  her  private  life  was  much  inter- 
fered with.  She  said:  "What  a  task  to  teach  these 
filthy  savages  cleanliness,  self-respect  and  mor- 
ality !"  And  though  the  boys  became  impressed  with 
Christianity,  none  of  the  girls  did.  Some  of  them  she 
had  to  turn  away  for  their  immorality.  In  the  midst 
of  such  surroundings  she  labored,  and  her  health 
finally  gave  entirely  away.  A  vacation  was  sug- 
gested to  her  after  her  break-down,  but  she  heroic- 
ally said :  "Life  is  too  short  to  abandon  God's  work 
for  any  such  reason."  On  the  Sunday  before  her 
death  although  weak,  she  went  out  into  the  field 


The  Reformed  Church.  127 

and  was  attacked  by  a  vulture  which  she  was  al- 
most too  weak  to  resist.  Help  came,  but  she  was 
brought  into  the  village  in  a  famting  condition.  Still 
she  recovered  enough  to  attend  both  services.  That 
evening  she  was  filled  with  unspeakable  joy  as  Litia 
made  his  public  profession  of  Christ.  And  while 
he  was  speaking  Mokomba,  another  young  man  of 
the  royal  family  broke  out  into  sobs.  She  said : 
"A  Barotsi  weeping,  and  weeping  about  his  sins.  I 
thought  they  had  no  tears  to  shed.  Why,  it  is  a 
sight  I  would  have  travelled  300  miles  to  see.  It 
was  the  most  beautiful  meeting  I  have  ever  attended 
among  the  Zambesis." 

It  was  to  be  her  last.  On  Thursday  they  played 
and  sang  together  "The  Golden  Gate :"  as  her  hus- 
band afterwards  said,  "  She  had  already  sighted  it." 
Then  came  the  fever,  making  terrible  progress. 
Her  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  she  thought  of  leaving 
him  alone  among  the  savages.  But  before  she  died, 
on  the  eve  of  her  death,  she  said  to  him :  "Death  is 
not  as  difficult  as  we  thought  and  I  feared.  It  is 
not  painful,  and  then  it  is  such  a  short  passage  when 
underneath  are  everlasting  arms."  She  died  Octo- 
ber 28,  1891,  gazing  into  the  sky,  as  if  she  had  a 
vision,  and  saying,  "How  very  beautiful,"  and  then 


128  Great  Missionaries  of 

saying,  as  they  laid  her  on  the  bed,  "I  have  at  last 
arrived." 

Great  was  the  mourning  in  the  mission  and  the 
villages  as  they  laid  her  to  rest.  Her  husband  bears 
this  testimony  of  her :  "Much  is  said  of  the  courage, 
activity  and  work  of  the  missionary,  but  men  ig- 
nore the  fact  that  as  a  rule  the  missionary  is  a  mis- 
sionary only  in  proportion  as  his  wife  is  one  and  as- 
sisting him."  She  was  to  him  not  only  a  wife,  but  a 
nurse,  teacher,  and  really  a  martyr  in  her  spirit. 
Writing  to  a  friend  about  her  death,  he  beautifully 
says  "sursum  corda" :  (Death  is  not  a  parting,  but 
a  reunion). 

After  her  death  came  dark  days.  Litia  soon  went 
back  to  heathenish  polygamy.  The  king,  while  he 
wanted  the  missionary  to  stay  with  him,  yet  hard- 
ened himself  against  religious  influences.  Coillard 
once  said  he  knew  the  reality  of  martyrdom  without 
its  joys.  Lewanika,  the  king,  was  a  despot  and  in- 
sisted on  forcing  on  the  missionaries  all  sorts  of 
exorbitant  bargains.  "What  have  I  to  do,"  he  once 
said,  "with  a  gospel  that  gives  me  neither  guns,  nor 
powder,  nor  coffee,  nor  tea,  nor  sugar,  nor  artisans 
to  work  for  me?"  Coillard  says  he  was  a  weather- 
cock;  now    favorable,   now   an   enemy.     He   even 


£i     J^'TiiBi 

K§< 

^f !] 

-^  :■■        ■'■  fe  ■  ft  f  • 

1  4^#^ 

The  Reformed  Church.  129 

proclaimed  a  blockade  of  the  mission  and  threatened 
to  strangle  any  one  who  served  the  missionary.  The 
moral  condition  of  the  people  oppressed  Coillard. 
Once  he  wrote  :  "Heathen  Africa  can  find  no  parallel 
to  their  state.  The  whole  land  is  a  Sodom  and  the 
benighted  people  whose  conscience  is  dead,  glory  in 
their  shame."  The  king  finally  inveigled  the  first 
convert,  Nguana-Ngombe  to  his  court  and  back  to 
heathenism. 

But  in  spite  of  all  these  difficulties  the  work  grew. 
Some  of  the  royal  family  becam.e  converted.  On 
March  11,  1894,  the  church  was  dedicated  and  Litia 
began  showing  more  interest.  He  came  to  the  mis- 
sionary, saying :  'T  want  to  be  a  child  of  God  and  I 
pray  him  to  give  me  strength  to  be  true  to  Him. 
Pray  for  me."  Litia  surprised  them  on  Sunday, 
October  7,  1894,  by  rising  in  the  large  audience  and 
saying:  "Henceforth  I  have  broken  the  bonds  of 
Satan  to  become  a  child  of  God.  I  have  sent  away 
my  second  wife  so  as  to  obey  God.  Make  haste  and 
be  converted  to  him."  This  act  led  to  120  conver- 
sions, among  them  several  chiefs.  Litia  afterwards 
remained  faithful  to  the  church.  In  1895  there  was 
quite  a  revival,  resulting  in  a  number  of  converts. 

In  1902  Coillard  reported  that  "the  chapel  is  often 


130  Great  Missionaries  of 

quite  full.  Slaves  carry  in  chairs  for  the  chiet, 
Litia,  and  his  wife,  and  for  the  princess  Akenangi- 
sod  and  her  husband.  Before  the  service  the  con- 
gregation is  squatting  outside  of  the  chapel.  When 
Litia  passes,  all  kneel  and  clap  their  hands.  He 
never  replies  to  their  salutations ;  for  this  would  not 
be  royal.  He  enters  majestically  following  the  mis- 
sionary. Behind  him  comes  a  long  procession  of 
men  who  seat  themselves  on  their  mats,  the  young 
lads  come  in  chattering  and  squat  on  the  ground 
before  the  pulpit.  Then,  always  late,  comes  the  two 
princesses  with  their  long  train  of  women.  The 
men  are  very  attentive.  To  look  at  their  faces  you 
would  say  that  they  understood  everything.  They 
sing  well,  Litia  especially.  He  also  prays  some- 
times. He  is  very  well  mannered,  has  brilliant  eyes 
and  a  pleasing  smile.  He  is  always  well-dressed 
with  a  stiflf  collar,  starched  cuflFs,  dazzling  shirt- 
front,  black  coat  and  polished  shoes." 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  touching  stories  of 
this  mission  is  that  told  by  a  poor  black 
woman  at  a  prayer  meeting,  whose  subject  was 
"Lot's  wife."  She  said  she  had  just  come  up  from 
the  bottom  of  the  valley.  On  her  way  she  found 
people  working  in  the  fields  on  Sunday.     She  ac- 


The  Reformed  Church.  131 

costed  them,  and  invited  them  to  come  and  hear  the 
word  of  God.  They  replied  with  contempt:  "It  is 
no  longer  the  missionary  who  comes  and  reminds  us 
that  it  is  the  Lord's  day.  Now  it  is  these  fag-ends 
of  women  folks.  Begone !  Be  off  to  play  the  be- 
liever, if  you  imagine  the  missionaries  are  going  to 
give  you  cloths  and  beads."  "O,  my  masters,"  re- 
plied the  poor  thing,  "1  am  nothing  but  a  poor 
slave  to  be  sure,  I  am  nothing,  but  I  feel  the  need  of 
learning  the  things  of  God.  Oh,  no,  it  is  not  cloth 
or  beads  that  I  am  looking  for.  What  could  I  do 
with  them?  I  have  never  worn  anything  but  this 
bodice  of  skin.  But  I  am  a  great  sinner  and  what  I 
seek  is  the  pardon  of  my  sins." 

But  the  missionary's  health  began  to  break  down. 
The  Paris  Society  wanted  him  to  come  home  on 
furlough,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  do  so,  as  he  feared 
he  might  never  return  to  the  mission,  as  he  was  60 
years  old.  His  reply  to  their  request  was :  "Send 
us  first  ten  workers  and  I  will  come  and  help  you 
find  ten  others."  But  he  was  finally  compelled  by 
his  health  to  take  a  vacation  in  1896.  When  he  left 
there  were  five  stations  in  the  Zambezi  mission  with 
a  number  of  converts  and  a  school  of  evangelists 

with   10  pupils.     Before  he  left  he  was  frequently 
10 


132  Great  Missionaries  of 

visited  by  the  king  and  others  in  his  sickness.  When 
Coillard  said  to  the  king  that  he  mourned  that  he 
did  not  come  out  publicly  as  a  Christain,  the  king 
replied :  "That  I  am  not  a  Christian  is  not  your  fault 
for  you  have  given  me  no  rest  daily."  Coillard  ar- 
rived at  Paris  on  June  18,  1896. 

In  1899  he  was  again  in  Europe  and  when  he  left 
for  the  Zambesi  (December  10,  1899),  the  Oratoire 
Church  at  Paris  was  crowded.  The  Rev.  Theodore 
Monod  said  there  that  he  would  use  of  him  the 
words  engraven  on  the  tomb  of  Charles  Kingsley, 
"We  have  loved,  we  love,  we  will  love,"  He  had 
succeeded  in  raising  nearly  $30,000  in  Europe  for 
his  mission  and  had  gained  a  re-enforcement  of 
fifteen  missionaries.  He  is  still  hard  at  work  in  his 
field  of  the  Zambesis. 

At  the  recent  coronation  of  King  Edward  VH  of 
England,  one  of  the  foreign  kings,  whose  visit 
awakened  great  interest,  was  King  Lewanika,  of 
Barotsiland.  Though  not  a  professing  Christian, 
he  is  deeply  concerned  for  the  moral  condition  of 
his  family,  and  is  so  favorable  to  them  that  he  wrote 
to  the  Paris  Mission  Society  from  Edinburgh  tha* 
he  desired  that  country  to  be  covered  with  a  net- 
work of  mission  stations.      He  has  succeeded  in 


The  Reformed  Church.  133 

stamping  out  intemperance,  the  slave  trade,  and  in- 
fanticide, and  greatly  raised  the  standard  of  civil- 
ization. Lewanika  recently,  on  his  return  from  the 
coronation  of  King  Edward  VII,  at  London,  though 
still  not  a  Christian,  yet  bore  most  remarkable  testi- 
mpny  to  it.  In  his  address  he  said :  "I  have  two 
words  to  say.  Here  is  the  first :  'Praise  God,  bless 
him.'  For  the  second  word  I  say,  'The  Gospel — it  is 
all.'  "  We  trust  he  is  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

Of  his  mission  Rev.  Dr.  J.  Johnson,  of  England, 
a  competent  authority  says :  "It  is  the  most  beauti- 
ful mission  I  have  seen  in  Africa."  Mr.  Coillard 
tells  a  story  that  on  one  occasion  when  a  pastor  in 
Basutoland,  a  black  minister,  invited  him  to  Kim- 
berley,  he  went  and  greatly  enjoyed  the  festival  at 
the  church.  When  he  was  about  leaving  the  minis- 
ter put  into  his  hand  a  number  of  small  diamonds. 
"These  represent  a  day's  work  of  my  men.  Choose 
which  you  like."  Coillard  says :  "I  took  a  long  time 
to  look  over  them.  There  were  yellow,  black  and 
white.  At  last  I  chose  a  black  one."  "But  that 
is  the  least  valuable,"  said  the  minister.  "Perhaps 
so,"  said  Coillard,  but  I  like  black  diamonds ;  they 
are  the  jewels  I  am  seeking  myself  for  the  Saviour's 


134  Great  Missionaries  of 

crown."  He  will  wear  many  black  diamonds  in 
his  crown  of  rejoicing  in  heaven  as  the  witness  of 
his  work. 


Chapter  V. 
PAUL  BERTHOUD  AND  ERNEST  CREUX. 
Sometimes  missionaries  go  in  pairs  and  become 
twins  in  the  work — true  yoke-fellows  in  Christ,  The 
southwestern  part  of  Switzerland  is  French  and  the 
Free  Churches  of  the  three  French  cantons,  of 
Neuchatel,  Vaud  and  Geneva,  have  united  to  form 
a  Missionary  Society,  which  they  called  the  Ro- 
mande  Society.  The  beginnings  of  their  organiza- 
tion came  about  in  this  way.  In  May,  1869,  the  Synod 
of  the  Free  Church  of  the  canton  of  Vaud,  at  its 
session  at  Lausanne,  was  taken  by  surprise  at  re- 
ceiving a  challenge  from  two  of  the  students  of 
their  Theological  Seminary  at  Lausanne,  Paul  Ber- 
thoud  and  Ernst  Creux,  in  which  they  offered 
themselves  as  foreign  missionaries.  (Neither  of  the 
French-Swiss  churches  had  as  yet  its  own  mission, 
although  they  had  raised  some  money  which  they 
paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  Mission  Society  at 
Paris).  The  letter  was  a  fine  specimen  of  youthful 
earnestness  for  the  salvation  of  the  heathen.  "To 
whom  shall  we  go,"  said  the  letter,  "rather  than  to 
the  church  to  which  we  belong?  We  will  go  where- 
ever  you  wish  us — to  the  tropics  in  the  south,  or  to 

135 


136  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  regions  of  ice  in  the  north.  Speak,  command, 
send,  and  we  will  obey." 

The  synod  was  deeply  moved  by  this  earnest  ap- 
peal, but  felt  itself  too  small  a  body  to  undertake 
so  great  a  work  as  to  start  a  missionary  society  of 
its  own  and  send  these  young  men.  The  deliberate- 
ness  of  older  heads  halted  the  effort  to  advance.  But 
the  next  synod  at  St.  Croix  (held  the  same  year), 
appointed  a  committee  of  five  to  aid  the  young  men 
in  carrying  out  their  desire  and  immediately  money 
began  to  flow  in  for  the  work. 

While  the  Vaud  Church  was  deliberating  and  the 
young  men  were  waiting,  the  Paris  Missionary  So- 
ciety sent  word  to  them :  "Why  do  you  hold  back 
the  young  men  so  long?  Send  them  to  us.  We  can 
use  them."  So  finally  in  1872,  three  years  after 
their  first  appeal,  the  two  young  men,  Berthoud 
and  Creux,  went  to  South  Africa  to  engage  in  ser- 
vice for  the  Paris  Society.  But  they  were  not  to  re- 
main in  its  service  long,  for  Rev.  Mr.  Mabille,  one 
of  the  Paris  Society's  missionaries,  had  gone  on  an 
exploring  tour  northward  to  a  new  district  called 
the  Ma-Gwamba.  He  brought  this  district  to  the 
notice  of  the  Paris  Society,  but  it  found  itself  too 
weak  to  undertake  this  new  work,  and  it  appealed 


The  Reformed  Church.  137 

to  the  Free  Church  of  Vaud  to  take  it  as  its  mis- 
sion. So  finally  on  April  28,  1874,  the  Synod  of 
that  church  decided  to  form  a  missionary  society 
of  its  own  and  to  appoint  Berthoud  and  Creux  as  its 
missionaries  and  send  them  to  the  Ma-Gwamba.  The 
missionaries  at  once  set  out  for  this  country  located 
in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  Transvaal,  and  on 
July  9,  1875,  they  arrived  at  Spelonken  and  began 
living  among  the  savages.  They  at  once  found  that 
the  first  necessity  was  the  learning  of  a  new  lan- 
guage, the  Ma-Gwamba,  which  they  soon  reduced 
to  writing.  They  called  the  mission  Valdezia,  nam- 
ing it  after  their  canton  of  Vaud. 

They  found  the  natives  willing  to  learn.  In 
studying  the  language  they  found  that  the  blacks 
had  traditions  of  the  flood  which  had  come  down 
to  them.  Beginning  with  this  trace  of  Bible  story 
they  tried  to  lead  the  poor  savages  up  to  the  Bible 
and  to  Jesus.  A  great  hindrance,  however,  was  the 
immoral  character  of  the  blacks.  They  were  given 
to  stealing,  lying  and  immorality.  They  were  also 
superstitious  and  much  under  control  of  their  medi- 
cine men,  who,  of  course,  bitterly  opposed  the  mis- 
sionaries. But  the  missionaries  bravely  continued 
to  visit  the  villages  and  to  hold    service,    and    in 


138  Great  Missionaries  of 

course  of  time  one-fortieth  of  the  people  attended 
worship  and  some  became  catechumens,  Creux  took 
charge  of  the  school  and  Berthoud  of  the  cate- 
chumens and  the  sick,  as  he  had  some  knowledge  of 
medicine. 

Then  another  difficulty  appeared.  The  Transvaal 
government  in  June,  1876,  forbade  them  to  preach 
to  the  natives  without  its  express  permission.  They 
declared  this  impossible,  for  it  was  for  that  pur- 
pose that  they  had  come  to  Africa.  They  would 
rather  obey  the  voice  of  God  than  of  man.  Finally 
they  were  arrested  for  their  refusal  to  obey  the 
government  and  were  sent  to  prison,  August  i,  at 
Marastabad.  Their  arrest  was  so  sudden  that  they 
were  compelled  to  leave  their  wives  and  children  be- 
hind them  in  the  wilderness  at  the  mission  station. 
Unfortunately  just  at  that  time  war  broke  out  near 
Spelonken  and  their  families  were  left  without  any 
defense.  From  the  mission  station  their  wives  were 
so  close  to  hostilities  that  they  could  see  the  burning 
of  villages  and  the  battles,  and  also  the  processions 
of  fugitives,  near  enough  to  hear  the  fusillade  of  the 
battle  and  the  cries  of  the  wounded.  Great  was 
their  anxiety,  but  their  covenant-God  took  care  of 
them.     The  missionaries  themselves   were   treated 


The  Reformed  Church.  139 

kindly  in  their  prison,  more  as  guests  than  as  pris- 
oners, and  were  allowed  to  preach  to  the  blacks 
where  they  were  imprisoned.  Finally  on  September 
6,  1876,  after  a  little  over  a  month's  imprisonment, 
they  were  set  free  and  allowed  to  return  to 
Spelonken. 

As  soon  as  they  had  returned  evidences  of  the 
presence  of  God's  Spirit  began  to  show  themselves. 
Three  weeks  later,  on  October  i,  they  had  their 
first  baptism  which  took  place  a  little  over  a  year 
after  their  arrival  at  the  mission.  Their  first  con- 
vert was  a  poor  black  woman  named  Sehlumula. 
She  had  been  maltreated  by  her  husband  and  had 
been  driven  away  from  home  by  him  in  scorn.  She 
had  seen  all  her  children  die.  She  had  been  at  the 
mercy  of  a  cruel  and  violent  brother,  who  intended 
to  sell  her  as  a  slave  so  as  to  make  some  money  oflf 
of  her.  In  all  her  troubles  she  at  last  found  com- 
fort in  Jesus.  At  her  baptism  she  told  the  story  of 
her  conversion  which  produced  a  great  effect  on  her 
hearers.  She  received  the  name  of  Lydia,  because 
like  Lydia  in  Paul's  time,  she  was  their  first  con- 
vert in  the  new  continent.  On  July  8,  1877,  seven 
more  were  received  into  the  church  and  by  the  end  of 
1878  there  were  40  baptized  Christians.     In  1878  a 


I40  Great  Missionaries  of 

new  station  named  Elim  was  founded,  and  in  1879 
Creux  took  charge  of  it. 

But  the  mission  still  suflfered  afflictions.  Sickness 
and  even  death  came  into  their  midst.  Mrs.  Ber- 
thoud  was  called  away  by  death  and  also  some  of 
the  missionaries'  children.  But  while  Providence 
was  decreasing  their  number  by  death,  it  was  in- 
creasing it  by  sending  out  new  missionaries.  Who 
should  be  sent  out  from  Switzerland  but  the  brother 
of  Bethoud,  Henry.  Finally  in  1883  the  Free 
Churches  of  the  other  French  cantons,  (Neuchatel 
and  Geneva),  united  with  this  society  of  the  Canton 
Vaud  in  forming  a  united  society,  which  they  called 
the  Romande  Society.  This  gave  it  a  much  larger 
constituency  at  home  and  the  work  in  Africa  was 
correspondingly  enlarged.  New  missionaries  were 
sent  and  the  work  rapidly  grew  in  prosperity  and  in- 
fluence. 

But  the  most  successful  field  of  this  Missionary 
Society  was  at  Delagoa  Bay  on  the  east  coast  of 
Africa.  As  early  as  1880  one  of  the  new  converts 
named  Joseph  happened  to  go  to  Delagoa  Bay  in 
search  of  his  sisters  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  25 
years,  until  they  succeeded  in  escaping  from  slavery 
together  with  their  mother.  He  returned  to  the  Ma- 


The  Reformed  Church.  14T 

Gwamba,  but  in  1881  he  was  again  sent  to  Delagoa 
Bay  by  Creux  to  sound  the  chief  there  and  find  out 
whether  he  could  be  favorable  to  the  starting  of  a 
new  mission.  Joseph  came  back  with  bright  news, 
saying  that  the  field  was  full  of  promise.  The  mis- 
sionaries decided  to  send  him  there  as  an  evangelist. 
On  April  23  he  was  ordained  at  Spelonken  when 
the  converted  heathen  raised  money  to  start  this 
new  mission  station.  They  called  the  new  mission 
Antioch,  because  like  Antioch  in  Scripture,  it  was 
the  first  attempt  of  the  converted  to  establish  a  mis- 
sion elsewhere.  About  the  same  time  that  Antioch 
was  founded,  a  brother-in-law  of  Joseph,  named 
Eliaschib,  founded  another  station  south  of  Antioch 
at  Rikatla. 

This  whole  district  has  been  called  a  white  man's 
grave  on  account  of  the  awful  mortality  there  to  the 
whites.  Nevertheless  in  1887  Paul  Berthoud  visited 
the  field.  As  he  neared  the  coast  he  was  surprised 
to  hear  singing  in  the  language  of  the  Ma-Gwamba. 
It  was  the  people  of  Rikatla,  130  in  number,  who, 
under  Joseph's  leadership,  had  come  out  to  meet 
him.  He  was  greatly  moved  by  this  kind  recep- 
tion and  much  encouraged  in  view  of  the  dangers 
to  him  there.    He  finally,  in  the  face  of  the  African 


142  Great  Missionaries  of 

fever  so  prevalent,  settled  right  there.  But  a  kind 
Providence  watched  over  him  and  the  fever  did  not 
touch  him.  Soon  a  most  remarkable  religious  move- 
ment began  in  the  Delagoa  Bay  region.  At  Tempe, 
the  farthest  point  from  the  mission,  there  was  a 
man  named  Jim  Boy.  He  had  been  baptized,  but 
had  fallen  from  grace,  being  a  polygamist  and  slave- 
trader.  Still  the  influence  of  Christianity  remained 
with  him,  for  he  would  preach,  and  the  natives  un- 
der him  were  so  much  moved  that  great  weeping 
occurred  at  his  services.  He  returned  to  the  church 
afterwards. 

At  Rikatla  also  very  remarkable  scenes  took  place. 
Eliaschib's  house  was  the  meeting-place  for  worship. 
When  a  man  was  met  on  the  way  to  it  and  was  ask- 
ed, "Where  are  you  going,"  his  reply  would  be, 
"To  the  spring."  And  when  asked  "Why?"  he 
would  answer,  "Because  I  am  thirsty."  Having  ar- 
rived at  Eliaschib's  house  he  would  seat  himself 
among  the  people  and  say,  "I  am  hungry."  Then 
the  Bible  would  be  brought  out  and  explained,  and 
his  hunger  appeased.  How  simple-hearted  the 
piety  of  these  blacks.  What  an  example  to  many 
in  our  Christian  lands,  who,  in  spite  of  all  their 
Christian  privileges,  hunger  and  thirst  so  little  for 


The  Reformed  Church.  143 

the  privileges  of  worship.  These  converts  called 
themselves  "The  Children  of  the  Lord,"  "Children 
of  the  Father,"  and  "God's  Beloved  Ones."  A 
great  revival  followed  in  which,  it  is  true,  there 
were  some  extravagences,  for  some  became  inspira- 
tionists  and  declared  that  they  saw  visions.  All 
through  the  movement  it  required  the  most  careful 
guidance,  which  Berthoud  was  able  to  give  it.  But 
the  result  of  it  was  that  in  1888  300  united  with 
the  church.  In  1889  Berthoud  founded  another 
mission  at  Lorenzo  Marque,  the  seaport  of  Delagoa 
Bay. 

But  dangers  threatened  the  whole  mission.  War 
broke  out  in  1894  between  the  Portuguese  and  the 
blacks.  Many  of  their  out-stations  were  destroyed. 
Some  of  the  Christians  were  killed,  among  them  an 
evangelist,  Galasa,  who  was  speared  while  kneeling 
in  prayer.  But  after  the  war  it  continued  to  pros- 
per. In  1898  it  had  8  stations,  12  married  mis- 
sionaries with  8  other  missionaries.  Its  member- 
ship had  risen  to  1,800,  of  whom  1,000  were  at  Lo- 
renzo Marque.  The  Missionary  Society  at  home 
raised  that  year  $30,000,  of  which  $5,000  were 
given  for  the  famine  then  raging  in  South  Africa. 
Of  this  the  mission  itself  raised  $1,275.     For  the 


144  Great  Missionaries  of 

natives  were  very  liberal,  considering  their  poverty. 
Thus  on  one  occasion,  after  Creux  had  preached,  a 
young  man  stepped  up  and  gave  him  $80,  saying  it 
was  part  of  the  money  he  had  once  received  for  a 
stolen  diamond.  He  said :  "I  can  no  longer  endure 
the  guilt  of  it.  Here  is  the  money,  and  the  remain- 
ing $20  I  will  bring  as  soon  as  I  am  able."  So 
great  a  reputation  did  these  black  Christians  gain 
for  honesty  that  the  European  merchants  would 
ask  the  missionaries  for  men  to  whom  they  could 
entrust  money  to  buy  cattle  in  the  interior.  There 
are  now  over  2,000  members  in  the  mission,  of 
whom  the  greater  part  are  in  the  region  of  Delagoa 
Bay. 

"Great,"  says  Rev.  Mr.  Grandjean,  one  of  the 
missionaries  who  has  been  recalled  from  Africa  to 
become  the  home  secretary  of  the  Society  in  Swit- 
zerland, "great  have  been  the  changes.  Among  the 
sheaves  were  some  very  remarkable  ones.  At  the 
Littoral  we  see  a  number  of  women  whom  we  love 
to  call  mothers  in  Israel,  a  Lois,  who,  for  example, 
has  been  the  living  centre  of  those  at  Rikatla, 
and  at  Lorenzo  Marque,  a  Sarah,  whose  house  had 
formerly  been  a  house  of  infamy,  but  now  the  first 
place  of  worship.     We  have  seen  a  great  number 


The  Reformed  Church.  145 

of  men  change  their  Hves  from  laziness  to  activity 
and  regularity.  We  have  seen  heathen  chiefs  aban- 
doning their  pagan  lives  of  voluptuousness  and  be- 
coming Christians  at  the  risk  of  losing  their  prestige 
and  position,  as  Jim  at  Tempe,  Mohlaba  at  Schlou- 
vane,  and  Ndjakandjaka  at  Spelonken.  We  have 
seen  a  large  number  of  young  men  drawn  from  a 
pagan  life  to  become  evangelists  after  seven  years 
of  study  in  two  strange  languages,  the  Sessouto 
and  the  English.  We  have  seen  transformations 
in  the  individual,  in  society,  in  the  relations  between 
the  tribes,  and  in  the  attitude  of  the  government." 


Chapter  VI. 
ESCANDE  AND  MINAULT. 

THE   REFORMED   MARTYRS  OF  THE    IQTH    CENTURY. 

Madagascar  has  been  the  scene  of  wonderful  suc- 
cess, of  terrible  persecutions  and  magnificent  mar- 
tyrdoms— "a.  nation  born  in  a  day,"  as  her  people 
so  wonderfully  welcomed  Christianity.  Then  came 
the  awful  persecutions,  1835-61,  especially  on  March 
28,  1849,  when  14  native  Christians  bound  with 
ropes  were  thrown  over  the  "Stone  of  Hurling," 
a  precipice  100  feet  high,  at  the  capital,  Antanan- 
arivo. But  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of 
the  church,  and  when  the  missionaries  returned  in 
1861  they  found  the  number  of  Christians  had 
greatly  increased  in  their  absence,  as  in  the  capital 
they  had  risen  from  200  in  1835  to  700  in  1861.  The 
London  Society  had  a  few  years  ago  60,000  com- 
municants and  300,000  adherents  in  Madagascar, 
and  there  are  other  societies  also  laboring  there,  as 
the  Friends  and  Norwegians. 

But  for  the  last  few  years,  evil  times  have  fallen 
on  that  island.  France  for  nearly  a  century  has  had 
her  eye  on  this  rich  island  and  sought  every  oppor- 
tunity to  gain  influence  there.    In  1883  she  attacked 

147 

II 


148  Great  Missionaries  of 

her  but  gained  nothing  except  a  resident  general 
at  the  capital  with  a  few  French  troops  as  a  guard 
of  honor.  Finally  in  1895  France  sent  an  army  of 
15,000  to  subjugate  the  island.  They  landed  and 
marched  to  the  capital  300  miles  inland.  They  met 
with  practically  no  opposition,  losing  far  more  by 
sickness  than  by  war.  Fears  were  early  entertained 
that  if  France  gained  control  the  fine  work  of 
the  London  Missionary  Society  would  be  interfered 
with  and  perhaps  stopped.  And  so  it  came  to  pass. 
Although  the  French  government  did  not  forbid 
Protestant  missions  in  its  colonies  as  it  had  done 
in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  (for 
Frances'  influence  has  always  been  with  Catholi- 
cism), yet  the  Catholics  at  once  saw  their  oppor- 
tunity in  Madagascar.  And  with  the  French  army 
came  the  Catholic  priests,  especially  the  Jesuits. 
However,  fortunately  for  the  Protestants,  the  first 
French  Governor-General  there  happened  to  be  a 
Protestant,  Mr.  Laroche.  For  this  the  Romanists 
cursed  the  home  government  because  it  interfered 
with  their  unlimited  control.  Still  in  certain  dis- 
tricts there  was  much  oppression — the  Catholic 
worship  introduced  and  the  Protestant  forced  out. 
The  Protestant  evangelists  were  driven    out    and 


The  Reformed  Church.  149 

missionaries  evicted  from  their  parsonaj^^es.  The 
Cathohcs  especially  fostered  the  idea  that  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  being 
foreigners  and  EngHshmen,  were  disloyal  to  the 
new  French  government.  Gallieni,  the  French  gen- 
eral said :  "All  Protestants  are  Englishmen  and 
ought  to  be  shot." 

But  at  that  juncture  of  affairs  the  London  Society 
proposed  to  turn  over  its  work  to  the  Paris  Society, 
as  it  was  French,  so  that  the  splendid  Protestant 
movement  might  not  be  checked.  It  was  too  large 
a  field  for  the  latter  society.  Nevertheless  they  rose 
to  the  opportunity  at  once  as  far  as  they  were  able. 
Some  missions  were  transferred,  enough  to  show 
the  government  that  the  London  Society  had  no  sel- 
fish aims  or  wished  to  be  disloyal  to  France.  The 
Paris  Society,  as  soon  as  the  island  came  under  the 
power  of  France,  sent  two  French  pastors  thither, 
Lauga  and  Kruger,  who  began  holding  French  Prot- 
estant services  there.  Their  presence  was  a  great 
gain ;  for  the  Jesuits  had  gone  about  saying :  "All 
Protestants  are  Englishmen  and  are  to  be  shot  and 
all  Catholics  are  Frenchmen  and  are  to  be  saved 
or  promoted."  Their  presence  proved  to  the  na- 
tives that  there  were  Protestants  among  the  French. 


150  Great  Missionaries  of 

However  under  General  Gallieni  the  native  Protes- 
tants suffered  considerable  oppression.     From  the 
beginning    Protestant    churches    there    were    used 
by  the  soldiers  as  barracks,  but  none  of  the  Catholic 
churches.     Then  the  government  proceeded  farther 
— to  take  other  mission  buildings  for  state  use.     In 
Betsileo  province  the  people  were  terrorized  shame- 
lessly by  the  agents  of  the  Jesuits.     The  mission- 
aries of  the  London  Missionary  Society  were  ban- 
ished on  the  plea  that  they  were  Hovas  (natives  of 
Madagascar).      The    twelve   leading    men    of   one 
church  were  banished  because  suspicion  was  raised 
against  them  that  they  were  friendly  to  the  English. 
The  Paris  Missionary  Society  at  once  proceeded 
to  send  missionaries  there,  who  took  charge  of  the 
Protestant  primary  schools  of  the  London  Society, 
for  which  there  were  500  with  more  than  30,000 
scholars.     Their   missionaries  had  not   been   long 
there  when  two  of  them  won  the  crown  of  martyr- 
dom,  Mr.  Escande  and   Mr.   Minault,    who    were 
cruelly  massacred  on  the  road  from  the  capital  to 
Fianarantsoa,   where  the   latter   was  about  to  oc- 
cupy the  mission  station  in  the  disturbed  district 
of  Betsileo. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Escande  was  one  of  the  best  mis- 


REW    BENJAMIN    ESCANDE. 


The  Reformed  Church.  151 

sionaries  of  the  Paris  Society.  He  had  been  mis- 
sionary for  a  number  of  years  in  the  French  colony 
of  the  Senegal  in  West  Africa.  He  was  born  at 
Mazainet,  France,  December  6,  1864.  At  a  very 
early  age  he  manifested  a  love  for  spiritual  things. 
"Mamma,"  he  said,  when  eight  years  old,  "I  would 
like  to  be  a  deacon."  God  made  him  more  than 
that — a  missionary.  But  this  showed  his  early  de- 
sire for  religious  work.  It  was  however  the  visit 
of  the  famous  missionary  Coillard  to  France  in 
1 88 1  that  led  him  definitely  to  determine  to  become 
a  missionary.  His  parents  did  not  for  a  moment  op- 
pose his  choice  but  said :  "Our  Benjamin  has  been 
consecrated  to  Jesus  since  his  birth.  Let  Him  do 
with  him  as  seemeth  best."  After  preparatory 
studies  in  his  home  in  France  he  was  ordained  at 
Paris  November  27,  1888,  at  the  Church  of  the 
Oratoire  in  Paris.  He  settled  at  St.  Louis,  in  Sen- 
gal,  Africa,  where  he  labored  faithfully  and  suc- 
cessfully about  eight  years. 

In  1896,  during  a  furlough  in  Europe,  the  Paris 
Missionary  Society  appealed  for  volunteers  for 
Madagascar  who  would  defend  religious  liberty 
there  and  protect  the  Protestant  church  then  men- 
aced by  the  Jesuits.    They  desired  some  one  to  go, 


152  Great  Missionaries  of 

as  Messrs.  Kruger  and  Lauga  were  about  to  re- 
turn home.  Not  finding  any  person  for  such  an 
urgent  and  delicate  mission,  the  Committee  of  the 
Paris  Missionary  Society  appealed  to  Escande  to 
go.  Although  at  home  in  order  to  recruit  his 
health,  he  at  once  responded  to  their  request  by  the 
telegram,  "I  am  at  the  disposition  of  the  Commit- 
tee. As  God  directs  you."  He  sailed  from  Mar- 
seilles August  26,  1896,  and  arrived  at  Antananarivo 
September  26,  1896.  He  was  kept  very  busy  trying 
to  regain  the  churches  of  which  the  Protestants  had 
been  dispossessed  and  to  make  the  government  re- 
spect the  liberty  of  conscience  of  the  Protestants. 
In  this  he  showed  great  tact,  courage  and  perse- 
verance. In  every  way  he  tried  to  bring  to  naught 
the  designs  of  the  Jesuits.  He  labored  at  Antanan- 
arivo as  French  pastor  and  preacher,  and  besides 
had  also  a  large  correspondence  with  the  mission 
churches  at  the  home  Society  in  France.  Paul 
Minault,  who  was  a  new  missionary,  a  young  man, 
said  of  him  one  day:  "He  is  a  hero.  I  am  filled 
beyond  bounds  with  admiration  for  him."  The  new 
missionaries  he  awaited  with  great  joy.  They  ar- 
rived at  Antananarivo  April  26,  1897 — five  of  them : 
Minault,  Delord,  Moudain,  Meyer  and  Ducommun. 


The  Reformed  Church.  153 

A  few  days  after  this  the  missionaries  held  their 
conference,  at  which  Minault  was  appointed  to 
Finanarantsoa,  the  capital  of  Betsileo  province 
where  the  Protestant  work  was  dying  through  the 
intrigues  of  t^e  Jesuits.  Escande  accompanied  him 
in  his  journey  because  the  young  man's  health  had 
been  weakened  by  violent  attacks  of  fever.  They 
left  Antananarivo  May  17,  1897.  On  May  21  after 
dinner  they  arrived  in  the  gorges  of  Anharatra, 
nearly  thirty  miles  from  the  capital.  After  a  halt 
of  two  hours  for  dinner  they  continued  their  jour- 
ney. But  when  they  had  gone  about  a  mile,  their 
convoy  was  suddenly  assailed  by  thirty  armed  ban- 
dits from  an  ambuscade.  Their  men  at  once  threw 
down  their  loads  and  escaped  in  every  direction. 
The  two  missionaries,  accompanied  by  the  faithful 
boy  of  Mr.  Escande,  Rainimanga,  tried  in  vain  to 
escape  the  assassins.  Escande  was  ahead  riding. 
Minault,  weakened  by  the  fever  and  the  too  heavy 
clothing,  was  unable  to  escape  by  running.  He  fell 
without  a  word  when  the  fatal  shot  struck  him. 
Escande,  who  had  dismounted  from  his  horse  to 
aid  his  companion  when  he  saw  him  fall,  tried  to 
remount  to  escape  but  was  not  able.  He  took  sev- 
eral steps  when  in  turning  he  fell,  struck  by  a  ball. 


154  Great  Missionaries  of 

The  boy,  happily,  recovered  the  horse  of  Mr.  Es- 
cande  and  brought  the  sad  news  to  Ramainandro 
where  there  was  a  French  mihtary  post.  The 
bodies  were  found  with  many  spear  wounds  upon 
them,  where  they  had  been  speared  after  they  had 
been  shot.  They  were  buried  there  and  their  col- 
leagues placed  the  inscription  on  their  tomb,  "To 
our  Friends  B.  Escande  and  P.  Minault,  assassin- 
ated May  21,  1897.  'I  have  fought  the  good  fight.'  " 
The  French  government  later  placed  a  monument 
to  them. 

Their  loss  turned  out  to  be  a  blessing  in  disguise. 
The  French  government  learned  to  respect  the 
Protestants.  And  it  was  a  bugle-blast  to  the 
French  Reformed  at  home.  Their  old  Huguenot 
blood  rose  within  them.  The  Church  rose  from  its 
stupor  and  rallied  with  far  greater  energy  to  the 
support  of  this  mission.  At  once  many  volunteers 
in  France  offered  to  take  their  places.  The  mission 
in  Madagascar  will  ever  be  dear  to  French  Protest- 
ants because  baptized  with  blood.  The  Paris  So- 
ciety now  has  a  very  successful  mission  in  Mada- 
gascar to  which  the  French  government  has  been 
making  amends  and  French  newspapers  have  paid 
a  tribute  that  their  schools  there  were  better  than 


The  Reformed  Church.  155 

those  of  the  Romanists.  The  result  has  been  that 
the  success  of  the  Catholics  has  been  checked.  In 
one  district  where  there  had  been  six  Cath- 
olic churches  and  one  of  the  London  Mission,  now 
the  Catholic  churches  have  been  closed  and  the 
London  Society  has  six  churches.  Thus  the 
French  Reformed  saved  the  Protestant  church  of 
Madagascar  and  enriched  it  with  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs. 


BOOK  III. 


THE  REFORMED  IN  ASIA. 
A.— India. 

Chapter  I. 

ALPHONSE  F.  LACROIX. 

N  unknown  and  forgotten  Reformed  mis- 
sionary is  Lacroix, — unknown,  because  he 
lived  so  far  away  and  so  long  ago ;  forgot- 
ten, because  his  name  is  dimmed  by  the  lustre 
of  great  missionaries  so  much  better  known 
to  us.  /And  yet  what  Judson  was  to  America,  what 
Carey  was  to  England,  Lacroix  was  to  the  French- 
speaking  Reformed  churches  of  Switzerland — the 
John  the  Baptist  to  awaken  them  to  their  responsi- 
bility/ to  save  the  heathen.  He  was  a  great  mis- 
sionary, and  if  the  Reformed  Church  forgets  to 
honor  him,  she  is  the  loser  by  it.  He  was  a  native 
of  French  Switzerland,  born  near  the  scene  of  the 
labors  of  Farel,  that  Elijah  of  the  Alps  in  Refor- 
mation days.  What  Farel  did  three  hundred  years 
before  in  stirring  up  that  region  to  a  new  life  in  the 
gospel,  that  Lacroix  did  there  in  the  last  century, 
stirring  it  to  new  life  for  foreign  missions.  He  is  in- 
teresting to  English  readers,  and  especially  to  those 
interested  in  woman's  work,  because/he  is  the  fath- 


i6o  Great  Missionaries  of 

er_pf  Mrs-JVIulleiis,  who  is  reputed  to  have  been 
the  founder  of  mission  work  among  the  Zenanas  of 
India,  where  so  many  thousands  of  women  are  im- 
prisoned without  hope  or  love.  The  story  is  this,* 
— that  Mrs.  Mullens  sat  one  day  in  her  parlor  em- 
broidering a  pair  of  slippers  for  her  husband.  A 
Brahmin  gentleman  greatly  admired  them.  Mrs. 
Mullens  asked  him  if  he  would  not  like  to  have  his 
wife  taught  to  make  them.  He  answered,  "Yes." 
So  she  went  to  his  wife  and  began  to  teach  her  the 
embroidering  of  slippers,  but  with  it  she  inter- 
twined the  teaching  of  God's  Word  and  of  Jesus' 
love.  As  some  one  says :  "A  needle  opened  the  way 
to  reach  the  millions  of  India."  Other  Brahmin 
women  wanted  to  learn  to  embroider  slippers,  so 
her  opportunities  increased.  Other  Zenanas  were 
opened  until  now  there  are  a  number  of  Zenana 
societies  with  scores  of  missionaries  who  are  visit- 
ing and  brightening  up  those  Eastern  prisons  with 
the  tidings  of  Christ's  love. 

Alphonse    Francis    Lacroix    was   born    May    lo, 
1799,    at   Lignieres,    in   the    canton   of   Neuchatel, 


*This  origin  of  Zenana  work  has  been  denied,  and  the  denial  of 
it  is  probably  so  far  true  that  she  was  not  the  originator  of  work 
for  women  in  India  as  others  urged  it  before  her.  Still  the  story 
is  very  beautiful. 


The  Reformed  Church.  i6i 

Switzerland.  As  his  father  died  soon  after  his 
birth,  his  uncle  took  charge  of  him.  His  uncle  had 
charge  of  a  boarding  school  in  the  suburbs  of  Neu- 
chatel,  and  was  one  of  the  few  godly  men  in  that 
age  of  unbelief  who  was  not  afraid  to  confess 
Christ.  His  school,  therefore,  had  an  atmosphere 
of  piety  about  it  that  did  not  fail  to  tell  on  his 
nephew.  Indeed,  the  Christian  influence  of  this 
uncle  was  the  original  cause  in  preparing  him  ulti- 
mately to  become  a  missionary.  There  by  the  stone 
of  Serricres  where  Farel  stood  when  he  first 
preached  the  doctrines  of  the  reformation  in  that 
canton,  he  learned  the  earnest  truths  of  that  gospel, 
so  as  to  preach  them  to  the  heathen.  His  uncle, 
anxious  to  have  him  learn  German,  sent  him  to 
Zurich,  where  he  lived  in  the  family  of  one  of  the 
pastors.  He  learned  German,  but  the  spiritual  in- 
fluence of  that  home  was  not  what  his  uncle's 
school  was.  For  alas !  the  Church  of  Zwingli  had 
become  cold  through  rationalistic  influences  in  the 
early  part  of  this  century.  He  returned  to  Neu- 
chatel  when  twelve  years  of  age. 

Here  the  boy  was  father  of  the  man,  and  early 
revealed  his  future  characteristics.  He  possessed 
immense  energy  and  incessant  activity,  and  his  tall, 


1 62  Great  Missionaries  of 

stout,  well-knit  form  seemed  capable  of  doing  end- 
less work  and  bearing  great  fatigue.  Many  deeds 
of  daring  are  told  of  him.  On  one  occasion  he  was 
almost  drowned.  He  lost  his  senses  in  the  water, 
and  afterwards  described  how  in  a  moment  of  time 
the  whole  of  his  past  life  passed  before  him.  He 
was,  however,  saved  for  great  purposes,  like  Wes- 
ley. War  had  a  great  fascination  for  him.  He 
longed  to  become  a  soldier.  The  bravery  of  Arnold 
Winkelried  at  Sempach,  where  he  fell  pierced  by 
the  Austrian  spears  a  martyr-hero  for  Switzerland, 
enthused  him.  In  this  there  was  danger  that  he 
would  be  drawn  off  from  what  was  to  become  his 
life  work  afterwards  as  a  missionary.  Yet  it  is  not 
wonderful  that  he  was  inclined  that  way.  For  his 
boyhood  took  place  during  the  stirring  scenes  of  the 
wars  of  Napoleon.  Even  down  to  his  old  age  he 
never  forgot  an  old  general  of  eighty  years  of  age 
reviewing  a  body  of  troops.  His  uncle,  however, 
was  averse  to  soldier  life,  and  wanted  him  to  enter 
the  ministry.  For  that  purpose  he  placed  him  at 
one  of  the  colleges  in  Neuchatel. 
y/^And  now  occurs  a  crisis  in  his  history.  The  mil- 
itary fever  ran  so  high  that  when  fourteen  years  of 
age  he  resolved  to  join  a  Swiss  regiment  in  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  163 

French  army.  He,  however,  Hke  a  dutiful  boy, 
went  to  his  uncle  to  get  his  permission  before  he 
went.  The  uncle  refused  for  a  while,  but  finally 
reluctantly  gave  his  consent.  Lacroix  started  with 
his  knapsack  to  go  to  Berne,  thirty  miles  away,  to 
enlist.  Meanwhile  his  uncle,  who  believed  that  the 
effectual,  fervent  prayer  of  the  rightous  availeth 
much,  went  to  praying.  As  the  young  recruit 
neared  Berne,  and  was  almost  within  sight  of  the 
city,  a  sudden  change  came  over  him.  It  seemed 
to  him  as  if  a  hand  were  laid  on  his  shoulder,  and 
a  voice  rang  in  his  heart,  as  came  to  Elijah :  "What 
dost  thou  here?  Return!"  He  paused,  obeyed  and 
turned  back.  When  he  came  home,  he  flung  him- 
self into  the  arms  of  his  uncle,  saying:  "Ah,  dear 
uncle,  you  have  been  praying  for  me.  I  know  you 
have  been  calling  me  back.  Here  I  am."  He  was 
not  to  be  a  soldier  of  Napoleon,  but  a  soldier  of  a 
greater  than  Napoleon,  who  conquers  not  by  the 
sword,  but  by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  This  inci- 
dent made  a  marked  change  in  his  character.  His 
religious  life  deepened.  He  became  more  spiritual- 
ly minded.  He  was  especially  helped  just  at  that 
time  by  Jung  Stilling's  book,  "Scenes  in  the  King- 
dom of  Spirits,"  and  ever  after  that  great  German 

writer  remained  a  favorite  of  his.  ^ 
12  X 


164  Great  Missionaries  of 

Two  years  later  another  incident  occurred  in  his 
life  that  was  another  link  in  forging  the  chain  to 
lead  him  into  the  mission  field.  He  was  called 
away  from  Switzerland  to  be  tutor  in  a  private 
family  at  Amsterdam,  where  he  lived  for  three 
years.  There  was  great  interest  in  Holland  at  that 
time  in  missions.  Here  it  was  that  he  was  brought 
into  contact  directly  with  foreign  missions ;  for  mis- 
sionary prayer  meetings  were  held  there  under  the 
influence  of  the  Netherlands  Missionary  Society. 
It  was  while  attending  a  prayer  meeting,  where  the 
overthrow  of  idolatry  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  was 
described,  that  he  first  felt  the  desire  to  become  a 
missionary.  For  six  months  he  prayed  over  this, 
before  he  breathed  it  to  others.  Then  it  became  so 
great  a  burden  to  him  that  he  wrote  to  his  uncle  for 
advice.  The  uncle  was  only  too  glad  to  approve  of 
hi§^  entrance  into  such  religious  work. 
y  The  Netherlands  Society  had  sent  out  a  call  for 
three  missionaries.  He  applied,  was  accepted  and 
then  enrolled  as  a  student  for  a  year  and  a  half  at 
their  Mission  House  at  Berkel,  in  Holland.  When 
he  was  about  to  enter  the  mission  field  it  happened 
that  a  pious  physician.  Dr.  Vos,  had  come  from 
India  to  Holland  and  asked  that  a  missionary  be 


The  Reformed  Church.  165 

sent  to  the  few  towns  in  India  still  remaining  un- 
der the  control  of  the  Dutch,  So  he  was  ordered  to 
go  to  Chinsurah  in  India.  On  August  11,  1820,  he 
was  ordained  a  minister  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  at  the  Hague,  and  on  August  25  a  farewell 
service  was  held  in  the  French  Reformed  church  at 
Rotterdam,  where  Rev.  Van  Oordt  solemnly  pre- 
sented the  missionary  with  a  Bible  and  urged  him 
to  preach  its  solemn  truths.  He  sailed  from  Eng- 
land for  India  October  i,  1820,  and  landed  at  Chin- 
surah March  2,  1821.  / 

The  town  of  Chinsurah  was  an  old  Dutch  town 
with  about  one  hundred  Dutch  houses,  the  rest  be- 
ing native  and  Oriental.  There  was  little  religious 
influence  there.  Three  missionaries  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society  were  already  laboring  there ; 
but  of  the  foreigners  some  were  infidels  and  many 
of  them  immoral.  The  Dutch  governor  gave  him 
quarters  at  the  Government  House.  He  began  to 
study  the  language  very  assiduously,  and  joined 
himself  very  closely  to  Rev.  Mr.  Townley,  one  of 
the  London  Society's  missionaries,  going  with  him 
on  his  missionary  tours.  Almost  the  first  sight  he 
saw  was  a  suttee,  or  the  burning  of  a  widow.  Mr. 
Townley    expostulated    with    the    family    although 


i66  Great  Missionaries  of 

there  was  a  large  crowd  present,  but  it  had  no  ef- 
fect. The  widow  was  burned  before  their  eyes. 
The  impression  of  this  horror  of  the  Hindoo  sys- 
tem Lacroix  never  forgot  during  all  his  life. /On 
another  occasion  he  saw  a  man  drowning,  and  he 
called  to  a  boat  to  pick  him  up,  but  they  refused  for 
fear  they  would  break  their  caste  by  touching  him, 
and  so  he  drowned. /No  wonder  he  despised  and 
exposed  a  religion  that  sanctioned  that. 

He  soon  began  to  teach  in  one  of  the  Dutch  pub- 
lic schools  at  Chinsurah,  taking  charge  of  the 
school.  Although  his  instructions  were  in  secular 
studies,  yet  he  did  not  forget  to  train  his  pupils  in 
that  wisdom  that  cometh  from  above. /Indeed  a 
beautiful  illustration  is  told  that  thirty  years  after 
when  he  was  preaching  in  a  Presbyterian  church  at 
Agra,  at  the  close  of  the  service  a  gentleman,  em- 
ployed in  one  of  the  government  offices,  came  up  to 
him,  his  eyes  streaming  with  tears,  to  present  his 
thanks  for  all  the  kind  care  received  from  him  in 
that  school  so  many  years  before,  and  to  express 
his  intense  delight  at  so  unexpectedly  seeing  his 
face  and  hearing  his  voice  once  more.  He  was  an 
elder  in  that  church,  and  attributed  all  the  religious 
impressions  that  led  him  to  Christ  to  the  instruction 


The  Reformed  Church.  167 

of  Lacroix  in  his  school.  Lacroix  thanked  God  and 
took  courage,  remembering  the  promise,  "Cast  thy 
bread  upon  the  waters,  and  it  shall  return  after 
many  days."^/^ 

Another  prominent  line  of  work  at  Chinsurah 
was  preaching  to  the  natives.  This  the  missionaries 
of  the  London  Society  had  been  doing,  and  in  two 
years  he  was  able  to  join  them  in  this  and  preach 
too.  They  preached  in  the  school  houses,  especially 
about  the  hour  of  sunset.  They  would  preach  the 
simple  gospel,  but  would  often  be  interrupted  by 
opponents. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  Lacroix  witnessed  an 
amusing  incident.  Mr.  Mundy  had  been  preaching 
to  a  large  crowd  under  the  branches  of  a  spreading 
tree,  when  an  old  Brahmin,  who  did  not  like  to  see 
the  people  so  attentive  to  the  Christian  preacher, 
asked  in  a  faultfinding  tone :  "What  was  the  use  of 
talking  to  all  these  people?  They  were  poor,  and 
why  did  not  the  preacher  do  something  more  sensi- 
ble by  relieving  their  bodily  wants,  than  by  preach- 
ing?" "Very  true,"  said  Mr.  Mundy,  "it  is  right  to 
assist  the  destitute,  and  as  you  Brahmin  have  no 
hat — here,  take  mine."  And,  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word,    without    giving    him    time    to    object,    Mr. 


i68  Great  Missionaries  of 

Mundy  put  his  old  hat  on  the  Brahmin's  head  and 
pressed  it  down.  The  latter  was  horrified  at  this, 
for  by  it  he  broke  caste  by  touching  what  belonged 
to  a  Christian.  Discomfited  he  hastened  ofif,  amid 
the  laughter  of  the  people,  who  were  greatly  de- 
lighted at  the  joke.  On  another  occasion,  after  La- 
croix  had  preached,  Mr.  Mundy  was  about  to  dis- 
tribute tracts,  when,  as  the  people  pressed  him  so 
closely,  he  climbed  into  a  tree  that  he  might  give 
them  singly  and  more  conveniently.  When  to 
the  delight  of  the  people,  the  bottom  of  the  basket 
came  out,  the  tracts  fell  with  it,  and  after  a  violent 
scramble  among  the  people,  they  were  carried  off 
in  triumph. 

Another  sphere  of  labor  for  Lacroix  was  among 
the  foreigners  at  Chinsurah,  who  were  dependent 
on  missionaries  for  preaching.  The  missionaries 
preached  in  English  and  Lacroix  in  Dutch  every 
Sunday.  He  found,  however,  considerable  difficulty 
in  doing  this  at  first,  because  the  Holland  language 
was  not  his  mother-tongue.  On  one  occasion  he 
began  preaching  and  announced  that  he  would 
divide  his  sermon  into  four  heads.  But,  alas,  as  he 
proceeded  he  forgot  what  was  the  last  head,  and 
had  to  finish  the  sermon  abruptly.     He  was  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  169 

more  discouraged  by  this,  because  Dr.  Vos,  one  of 
the  directors  of  his  Missionary  Society,  happened  to 
be  present.  But  to  his  astonishment,  Dr.  Vos  said 
to  him  the  next  evening  that  it  was  a  good  sermon 
and  that  the  illustrations  were  particularly  full  and 
striking. 

But  the  time  came  when  his  sphere  was  to  be 
changed.  The  few  Dutch  colonies  in  India  came 
under  the  control  of  the  English  government  in 
1825.  The  Netherlands  Missionary  Society  felt  that 
it  should  not  do  missionary  work  in  English  terri- 
tory, when  it  had  such  wide  fields  in  Java  and  the 
East  Indies,  which  were  under  its  own  government. 
Besides,  that  excellent  and  venerable  society  began, 
alas,  to  feel  the  effects  of  rationalism  that  denied 
Christ's  divinity  and  man's  depravity,  and  which 
was  coming  into  Holland.  This  was  cutting  the 
nerve  of  the  missionary  zeal,  and  the  Society  was 
beginning,  therefore,  to  lose  its  first  love.  For  if  the 
Church  at  home  does  not  believe  in  total  depravity, 
then  it  does  not  believe  the  heathen  are  depraved 
enough  to  have  missionaries  sent  to  them.  And  if  it 
does  not  believe  in  the  divinity  of  Christ,  He  is  not 
good  enough  to  be  offered  to  them.  The  Nether- 
lands Society  therefore  discontinued  its  missions  in 


170  Great  Missionaries  of 

India,  and  gave  Lacroix  the  choice  of  going  to 
Java  or  of  entering  some  other  society,  if  he  wished 
to  stay  in  India.  He  chose  the  latter  alternative, 
retired  from  the  Society  and  joined  the  London 
Missionary  Society  in  1827,  with  whose  mission- 
aries he  had  all  along  been  so  intimately  associated 
in  India.  He  was,  therefore,  for  six  years  a  mis- 
sionary of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Society.  But  al- 
though no  longer  a  missionary  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  yet  his  influence  in  the  Reformed  Church 
of  the  continent,  especially  in  his  native  land,  was 
so  great  that  we  will  continue  his  life. 

In  1829  he  removed  from  Chinsurah  to  Calcutta. 
He  there  engaged  extensively  in  preaching  and  in 
itinerating.  For  his  great  knowledge  of  the  Ben- 
gali language  made  him  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
and  effective  preachers  in  India.  He  could  always 
gain  a  large  audience  by  the  charm  of  his  voice,  by 
his  beautiful  use  of  their  language  and  the  beauti- 
ful imagery  in  which  he  clothed  his  ideas.  He  also 
superintended  several  congregations  south  of  Cal- 
cutta at  Rammakalchoke  and  Gungree,  eight  and 
twelve  miles  from  Calcutta.  He  labored  in  them 
twelve  years,  going  to  them  in  heat  and  cold,  in 
storm  and  pleasant  weather. 


The  Reformed  Church.  171 

Many  were  his  discouragements.  In  May,  1833, 
one  of  the  most  awful  hurricanes  that  was  ever 
known  burst  over  Bengal.  A  series  of  terrible 
waves,  ten  feet  high,  burst  into  the  land,  sweeping 
everything  for  more  than  fifty  miles  inland.  Twen- 
ty thousand  persons  were  drowned.  The  rich  har- 
vest was  lost,  and  so  famine  and  pestilence  followed 
the  hurricane.  For  several  weeks  long  rows  of 
starving  people  were  fed  daily  at  his  garden.  Wher- 
ever he  went  out  among  the  villages,  he  carried 
bags  of  pica  (an  Indian  cent)  to  distribute  among 
the  crowds.  And  yet  in  the  midst  of  all  the  dis- 
couragements the  mission  had  a  steady  growth. 
During  the  twelve  years  from  1829-1841  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  members  were  added,  and  the 
Christian  community  rose  from  fifty  to  four  hun- 
dred. In  January,  1837,  he  moved  to  Blowanpore, 
the  southern  suburb  of  Calcutta,  so  as  to  found 
there  a  missionary  station  with  a  school  for  the  sons 
of  his  converts.  He  was  too  wise  a  man  not  to  see 
that  the  subtle  Indian  mind  must  be  met  by  educa- 
tion as  well  as  evangelization.  This  school  proved 
so  successful  that  the  London  Society  made  it  their 
principal  mission  in  Calcutta.  Here  the  boys  were 
trained   to   become   preachers   of   the   gospel.      His 


172  Great  Missionaries  of 

wife  also  started  a  school  for  the  poor  Hindu  girls, 
which  was  also  a  wonderful  success  in  numbers, 
reaching  to  five  hundred.  But  as  the  girls  were 
not  allowed  to  stay  longer  than  when  ten  years  of 
age,  it  was  given  up,  because  it  could  bring  few 
returns. 

But  Mr.  Lacroix,  although  a  diligent  teacher,  was 
most  of  all  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  His  tall,  com- 
manding presence  and  his  powerful  voice  always 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the  simple  people  to 
whom  he  preached.  To  these  were  added  a  clear 
pronunciation  of  the  Bengali  language.  His  style 
of  sermon  was  Scriptural,  powerful,  personal.  A 
servant  once  told  his  mistress  that  whenever  Mr. 
Lacroix  preached,  every  Bengali's  heart  trembled. 
For  nearly  thirty  years  he  was  considered  the  most 
elegant  preacher  in  Bengali  that  the  country  con- 
tained. Indeed,  so  great  was  his  eloquence  that  ef- 
forts were  made  to  set  him  free  from  any  particular 
mission,  so  that  he  might  devote  his  time  entirely  to 
preaching  and  evangelizing  am.ong  the  villages. 
This  was  done  during  the  years  1836-1837,  and  he 
greatly  enjoyed  it. 

Their  method  of  holding  services  would  seem 
odd  and  strange  to  us.    Thus  he  would  go  into  one 


The  Reformed  Church.  173 

of  the  bazaar  chapels  and  begin  reading  from  a  desk 
a  selection  from  the  Bible.  This  he  explains.  Dur- 
ing his  explanation  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  persons 
come  in.  He  then  begins  to  preach.  He  takes  no 
text,  but  describes  some  story  from  the  Bible.  He 
expounds  it,  illustrates  it  by  incidents,  argues  and 
enforces  it.  The  hearers  listen  with  attention. 
Sometimes  one  will  object,  and  he  must  be  an- 
swered at  once,  or  the  preacher  will  not  carry  his 
audience  with  him.  If  they  are  interested,  they  re- 
main, and  at  a  striking  argument,  or  a  pointed  story 
or  a  good  humored  exposure  of  their  gods,  will 
laugh  or  cry  out  "capital."  If  not  interested,  they 
go  out,  but  others  come  in  to  take  their  places,  and 
so  there  is  a  perpetual  coming  and  going  during  the 
service.  The  preacher  must  be  careful  to  repeat  his 
theme  a  number  of  times,  so  that  the  late  ones  may 
know  what  he  is  talking  about.  Lacroix  usually 
preaches  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  After 
the  sermon  he  offers  a  short  prayer,  and  the  people 
gather  to  receive  tracts  and  gospels.  Thus  he  scat- 
ters the  seeds.  A  few  remain  as  inquirers,  or  show 
their  interest  by  coming  again  and  again.  These 
are  followed  up,  and  by  and  by  perhaps  are  gath- 
ered into  the  Church. 


174  Great  Missionaries  of 

On  one  occasion,  at  the  Simlia  chapel,  he  had 
been  arguing  with  a  man  who  was  a  Pantheist. 
For  the  Hindus  believe  in  Pantheism,  namely,  that 
all  things  are  God.  The  man  was  very  stubborn 
and  would  receive  nothing  advanced  against  his/ 
views.  Mr.  Lacroix  therefore  said  he  would  no 
more  argue,  and,  before  the  whole  congregation 
suddenly  seizing  the  man's  umbrella,  began  walk- 
ing out  of  the  chapel.  The  man  called  after  him 
and  said,  "That  is  my  umbrella."  "Your  umbrella, 
did  you  say?  Have  you  not  declared  that  Brahma 
is  everything,  that  he  is  you  and  I  and  all  the  peo- 
ple? How  then  can  there  be  such  a  thing  as  mine 
and  yours?  The  umbrella  is  mine  as  much  as  it  is 
yours  on  your  own  showing."  The  people  laughed 
at  this  clever  argument,  and  the  man  was  silenced 
and  left  the  place  without  a  word.  The  discussion 
was  conducted  in  good  temper,  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  the  real  errors  of  the  Hindu  creed.  Often 
he  touched  his  audience  very  sharply.  On  one  oc- 
casion he  was  preaching  a  sermon  on  lying,  on  the 
story  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira ;  as  he  pressed  home 
the  illustrations  of  judgment  given  in  God's  Word, 
the  people  were  spell-bound  and  a  profound  impres- 
sion was  produced  on  them.    And  when  he  finished 


The  Reformed  Church.  175 

with  a  brief  closing  prayer,  a  stranger,  who  had 
never  entered  the  bazaar  chapel  before,  rose  up  with 
a  deep  sigh,  which  said  as  plainly  as  words  could 
express  it:  "Well,  that  is  the  finest  thing  I  ever 
heard  in  my  life." 

Lacroix  was  generally  very  gladly  heard  by 
the  natives,  but  only  on  one  occasion  was  in- 
jury offered  to  him,  which  but  for  the  pro- 
tection of  his  Master  might  have  been  severe. 
He  was  preaching  one  evening  in  the  chapel  in 
Pontonia  in  Calcutta,  when,  without  any  reason 
furnished  by  himself,  a  Hindu  fanatic  came  quietly 
behind  him  and  with  a  big  stick  aimed  a  blow  at  his 
head,  so  that  he  would  knock  him  down.  Provi- 
dentially at  that  moment  Lacroix  turned,  and  the 
blow  fell  on  his  shoulder.  The  people  jumped  up  in 
a  minute  and  seized  the  man,  calling  aloud  for  a 
police.  But  Lacroix  stopped  them,  and  then,  plac- 
ing the  man  in  front  of  the  crowd,  without  a  par- 
ticle of  anger  in  his  voice  or  manner,  he  thus  ad- 
dressed him :  "You  have  endeavored  to  do  me  a 
severe  injury,  and  I  might  justly  complain  against 
you  and  have  you  punished.  But  the  religion  I 
preach  teaches  me  to  forgive  those  who  do  me 
harm.     For  the  sake  of  that  religion,  therefore,  I 


176  Great  Missionaries  of 

forgive  you  and  will  let  you  go  away."  This  simple 
incident  produced  a  far  deeper  impression  and 
called  forth  a  louder  demonstration  than  any  ser- 
mon he  had  ever  preached.  Struck  with  the  ex- 
ceeding kindness  of  his  act,  the  audience  in  the 
chapel,  Hindus  though  they  were,  at  once  burst  into 
a  loud  shout:  "Victory!  victory,  through  Jesus 
Christ!"  "Greater  is  he  that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he 
that  taketh  a  city." 

Lacroix  seems  to  have  been  a  fearless  man,  for 
he  would  often  meet  large  cobras  lying  in  the  sun. 
He  had  no  fear  of  them,  when  he  had  a  stick  in  his 
hand  and  boots  on  his  feet.  On  one  occasion,  when 
he  stayed  in  the  chapel  over  night,  a  snake  was 
crawling  along  the  floor  and  approaching  the  table. 
He  put  his  arm  out  of  the  mosquito  curtain  and  seiz- 
ed his  boot  to  throw  at  the  visitor.  But  just  at  that 
moment  the  hght  went  out,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  leave  him  alone.  Not  being  at  all  nervous,  he 
tucked  the  curtains  in  carefully  and  fearlessly  fell 
asleep. 

After  having  been  in  India  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  he  was  at  length  compelled  to  return  to 
Europe.  Though  his  strong,  robust  frame  seemed 
to  be  able  to  bear  any  great  labor  and  fatigue,  yet 


The  Reformed  Church.  177 

the  intense  heat  of  India,  which  afifects  especially 
the  nervous  system,  began  to  tell  on  his  health.  In 
these  days  the  missionary  societies  have  retreats  in 
the  Himalaya  mountains,  to  which  their  worn  out 
missionaries  can  go,  but  in  those  days  they  knew 
nothing  of  such  things.  The  sick,  worn  out  mis- 
sionaries had  to  return  home.  Lacroix  therefore 
sailed  from  India  and  arrived  in  England  in  April, 
1842.  But  he  found  himself  a  stranger  there,  as  he 
had  never  met  any  of  the  Board  of  his  Missionary 
Society.  For  he  had  gone  out  under  another  So- 
ciety, the  Netherlands,  and  now  for  the  first  time 
he  met  the  directors  of  his  own  Society,  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society.  They  treated  him  very 
kindly,  but  his  sympathies  were  on  the  continent 
v/here  his  friends  and  relatives  lived.  With  all  the 
home-sickness  of  the  Swiss  he  longed  to  see  his 
native  Alps  again,  and  he  soon  traveled  up  the 
Rhine  to  the  land  of  his  birth.  He  found  that  the 
Swiss  Churches  had  been  very  little  interested  in 
missions,  except  at  Basle,  where  almost  the  first  mis- 
sionary society  on  the  continent  had  been  formed  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  last  century.  Especially  were  the 
French  or  southern  cantons  of  Switzerland  igno- 
rant on  the  subject  of  missions.     Only  at  Geneva, 


178  Great  Missionaries  of 

where  a  few  earnest  Christians  had  formed  a  sort 
of  auxihary  to  the  Basle  missionary  society,  was 
there  any  interest  taken.  This  had  been  somewhat 
deepened  by  the  visit  of  Gobat,  the  missionary  to 
Abyssinia. 

It  remained  for  Lacroix  to  stir  up  the  interest  and 
produce  a  wonderful  missionary  revival  in  French 
Switzerland.  He  came  to  Geneva  just  as  the  inter- 
est in  missions  seemed  to  be  deepening.  In  June 
he  visited  the  old  home  of  his  boyhood  in  Neu- 
chatel.  What  tender  memories  gathered  around  his 
uncle's  school  and  the  old  Reformed  church  there, 
which  he  had  joined.  He  then  returned  to  Basle, 
to  assist  in  the  ordination  of  five  missionaries,  and 
his  address  on  that  occasion  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion. But  the  Committee  of  the  Basle  Society,  that 
had  its  headquarters  at  Geneva,  asked  him  to  de- 
liver a  course  of  lectures  on  missions.  They  ar- 
ranged to  have  them  in  a  small  church  holding 
about  two  hundred  persons.  But  the  interest  of  the 
people  in  missions  was  greater  than  the  faith  of 
those  who  projected  the  course  of  lectures.  For 
half  an  hour  before  the  first  lecture  began,  the 
church  was  packed  and  as  many  more  were  waiting 
outside  of  the  church  for  admission.     They  there- 


The  Reformed  Church.  179 

fore  adjourned  to  a  neighboring  hall,  where  four 
hundred  listened  to  his  account  of  the  strange  faith 
of  the  Hindus.  Lacroix  described  this  with  all  his 
popular  eloquence,  which  swayed  his  audience  be- 
fore him.  His  remarks  made  such  an  impression 
that  at  the  second  lecture  the  audience  had  doubled, 
and  when  he  delivered  the  third  lecture,  a  thousand 
persons  were  present,  including  the  leading  minis- 
ters of  Geneva.  And  they  hung  breathless  on  his 
eloquence  as  he  described  the  progress  made  by  the 
leading  Indian  missionaries.  Now  the  audience 
was  moved  to  laughter,  now  to  tears,  by  his  apt 
words  and  bright  illustrations.  The  attendance 
kept  on  increasing  at  each  lecture,  until  at  the  fifth 
lecture  not  only  was  the  hall  filled,  but  the  stairs 
and  lobbies,  and  people  stood  where  they  could  hear 
his  voice  even  if  they  could  not  see  him. 

These  were  wonderful  experiences  for  Geneva, 
that  city  which  had  been  so  injured  by  rationalism 
at  the  close  of  the  last  and  the  beginning  of  this 
century.  And  it  was  strange  that  such  a  rational- 
istic, worldly  city  could  be  stirred  in  this  way, 
especially  on  missions,  at  which  so  many  had 
doubted,  yes,  sneered.  They  were  the  talk  of  the 
city  and  of  the  whole  neighborhood.    Never  before 

13 


i8o  Great  Missionaries  of 

had  Geneva  been  so  stirred  on  the  subject  of  mis- 
sions. It  was  a  sort  of  resurrection  of  Calvin's 
interest ;  for  he,  centuries  before,  had  sent  out  two 
Reformed  ministers  from  Geneva  as  the  first  For- 
eign Missionaries  to  Brazil.  The  missionary  com- 
mittee who  had  charge  of  these  lectures  felt  that 
they  had  gained  so  much  influence  that  they  made 
bold  to  ask  for  one  of  the  largest  churches  in  the 
city  for  the  closing  lecture.  This  was  rather  a  pre- 
sumptuous undertaking,  for  the  State  Church  had 
been  honeycombed  with  rationalism,  and  many  of 
its  ministers  had  looked  down  on  Foreign  Mis- 
sions as  the  dream  of  the  enthusiast. 

But,  strange  to  say,  the  Venerable  Company  of 
Pastors,  which  controlled  all  the  state  churches, 
granted  the  request  and  placed  the  Madeline  church 
at  the  disposal  of  the  committee.  This  was  a  church 
which  had  rung  with  the  eloquence  of  Farel,  the 
Elijah  of  the  Alps,  in  the  days  of  the  Reformation. 
When  Sunday,  October  28,  1842,  came,  that  church 
was  filled  in  every  part,  so  that  seats  had  to  be  car- 
ried into  the  aisles,  and  the  stairways  and  door  were 
thronged  with  people.  It  is  believed  that  there  were 
not  less  than  3,000  persons  present.  Never  since 
the  days  of  Farel  had  that  church  been  so  thronged. 


The  Reformed  Church.  i8i 

On  the  large  platform  around  the  pulpit  sat  the  min- 
isters of  both  the  Free  and  the  State  Church.  This 
in  itself  was  a  most  remarkable  thing,  for  the  State 
Church  had  before  refused  to  fraternize  with  the 
Free  Church.  But  all  had  come  to  listen  to  a  new 
Farel  of  this  nineteenth  century.  As  Farel  roused 
that  city  by  his  eloquence  to  become  Protestant  in 
the  days  of  the  Reformation,  so  Lacroix  roused  them 
to  become  missionaries  in  spirit  by  his  eloquence, 
and  a  new  era  began  to  dawn  on  the  churches  of  the 
French  cantons.  With  all  the  eloquence  which  had 
made  him  in  India  the  best  preacher  in  Bengali, 
he  now  pleads  with  his  Swiss  friends  to  interest 
themselves  in  missions.  And  at  the  close  of  his  lec- 
ture, with  a  voice  broken  with  deep  emotion,  he  bade 
them  farewell.  The  collection  for  Foreign  Missions 
that  day  in  the  boxes  at  the  door  of  the  church 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars,  an 
amount  unheard  of  before. 

Nor  did  the  influence  of  these  lectures  end  then. 
For  the  next  day,  as  he  was  making  a  farewell  call 
at  Professor  Munier's,  a  lady  had  a  chance  meeting 
with  him,  which  had  a  marked  influence  on  his  after 
life.  She  had  been  deeply  impressed  with  his  lec- 
ture of  the  day  before,  so  that  she  said  at  the  close 


1 82  Great  Missionaries  of 

of  his  lecture:  "Now  we  must  do  something."  At 
Professor  Munier's  house  she  offered  to  give  four 
hundred  dollars,  a  very  large  sum  then,  and  she 
started  a  movement  that  raised  five  thousand  dollars 
for  his  work  before  he  died,  through  the  societies 
which  she  organized.  All  these  results  came  from 
her  words :  "We  must  do  something."  His  eloquent 
lectures  on  missions  Lacroix  repeated  at  Lausanne 
and  at  Neuchatel,  and  later  at  Brussels  and  Paris. 
Everywhere  they  were  heard  with  profound  atten- 
tion and  deep  interest.  The  Paris  Missionary  So- 
ciety was  so  pleased  with  them  that  they  sent  in  a 
request  to  the  London  Missionary  Society  to  allow 
Mr.  Lacroix  to  remain  in  Europe  for  another  year, 
so  as  to  lecture  throughout  France  and  rouse  inter- 
est in  missions.  The  London  Society,  however,  felt 
itself  compelled  to  refuse  the  request,  as  he  was 
greatly  needed  in  India.  His  missionary  work  in 
Switzerland  was,  however,  only  second  to  his  mis- 
sionary work  in  India  in  importance.  It  disarmed 
prejudice  and  awakened  interest.  It  started  an  in- 
fluence which  led,  many  years  later,  to  the  founding, 
in  1874,  of  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the 
French  churches  of  Switzerland,  which  is  now  doing 
such  an  admirable  work  in  Southern  Africa. 


The  Reformed  Church.  183 

He  returned  to  India  in  1844,  to  take  up  the  work 
he  so  much  loved.  But  he  did  not  find  his  work  as 
hopeful  as  it  had  been  during  the  years  before.  The 
first  love  and  zeal  in  many  of  his  converts  had 
passed  away.  In  1854  there  was  a  relapse.  On  one 
occasion  he  suspended  the  communion  at  Ramma- 
kalchoke  for  a  whole  year,  while  the  Gungree 
church  was  entirely  broken  up.  Still  from  these 
churches  more  than  two  hundred  in  thirty  years  at 
last  found  their  home  in  heaven.  In  spite  of  these 
difficulties  he  labored  on.  He  retained  his  deep  in- 
terest in  the  missionary  societies  at  home,  and  when 
the  Revolution  of  1848  bankrupted  the  Paris  Mis- 
sionary Society,  he  so  plead  for  their  successful  mis- 
sion among  the  Basutos  that  he  was  able  to  secure 
four  thousand  dollars  for  them  in  India.  This  aid, 
with  the  money  raised  for  them  in  southern  Africa, 
enabled  that  society  to  continue  its  work,  until  in  a 
year  or  two  it  was  able  to  recover  itself. 

He  thus  describes  an  impressive  scene  in  his  tours : 
"In  the  afternoon  we  proceeded  to  the  village  of  the 
Kamarjani  Proper,  in  doing  which  we  had  to  cross 
a  small  but  rapid  river.  The  weekly  market  was 
just  being  held,  and  the  crowd  of  buyers  and  sellers 
was  most  dense,  not  less  than  three  thousand  per- 


184  Great  Missionaries  of 

sons  being  present.  We  found  it  very  difficult  to 
make  our  way  through  the  mass  of  human  beings, 
and  having  at  last  reached  a  spot  a  little  clearer  than 
the  rest,  we  made  a  halt.  Mr.  Hill  then  read  part  of 
a  tract,  at  which  we  were  surrounded  by  many  hun- 
dreds and  so  hemmed  in  that  we  had  scarcely  elbow 
room.  Then  I  made  an  address,  and  it  required  the 
highest  power  of  my  voice  to  make  myself  heard  by 
all.  I  told  them  that  this  was  a  happy  day  for  their 
village,  for  I  had  come  to  announce  to  them  the  true 
incarnation,  the  incarnation  of  mercy,  that  Jesus 
Christ  had  come  into  the  world  to  save  men  from 
sin  and  hell,  and  to  open  the  gates  of  heaven  to  all 
who  repent  and  believe  on  Him.  The  attention  was 
intense,  and  repeated  exclamations  of  surprise  and 
wonder  were  uttered  at  this  news,  which  for  the  first 
time  came  to  their  ears.  The  people  never  having 
seen  Christian  missionaries,  gave  vent  to  various 
surmises  as  to  who  we  might  be.  The  prevailing 
opinion  was  that  we  were  of  the  oldest  and  more 
reverend  Brahminical  race  in  the  northwest  of  India. 
'Look  at  them!'  says  one.  "How  resplendent  their 
countenances  are  and  what  fire  proceeds  from  their 
mouths  when  they  speak,  the  very  marks  of  the  real 
original  Brahminical  race.' 


The  Reformed  Church.  185 

"The  sermon  was  followed  by  an  unusual  demand 
for  tracts  and  books,  which  it  was  difficult  to  sup- 
ply. Finding  it  was  impossible  to  speak  any  longer, 
I  told  the  assembled  crowd  that  we  were  servants  of 
Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  they  had  just  heard,  and  that 
we  brought  books  with  us,  which  would  explain 
more  fully  all  that  had  been  done  for  the  salvation 
of  men.  On  this  the  rush  was  so  general  that  we 
dared  not  attempt  distribution,  and  walked  to  a  more 
distant  spot.  But  being  followed  by  the  whole  of  our 
audience,  we  were  equally  unsuccessful.  In  four 
different  places  we  tried  to  persuade  them  to  sit 
down,  so  that  we  might  distribute  the  books  with 
some  regularity,  but  it  was  in  vain.  For  the  outer 
rows,  fearing  the  books  would  be  expended  before 
their  turn  came,  rose  and  came  falling  upon  those 
before  them,  until  the  confusion  became  so  great 
that  a  lad  was  thrown  down  by  the  crowd,  and 
would  have  been  trampled  to  death,  if  Mr.  Hill  had 
not  seized  him  by  the  hair  and  extricated  him  from 
his  perilous  position.  We  therefore  went  to  a  place 
near  by,  a  mile  from  the  market,  when  we  found  the 
number  of  our  applicants  reduced  about  one  hun- 
dred, where  we  distributed  the  books.  Never  else- 
where in  India  did  I  see  such  eagerness  to  obtain 
books  as  was  displayed  on  this  occasion." 


i86  Great  Missionaries  of 

For  seven  years  after  his  return  from  Europe  he 
acted  as  pastor,  but  after  185 1  he  was  set  free  from 
pastoral  work,  so  that  he  might  spend  his  whole 
time  in  preaching.     In  1851   the  school,  which  he 
had   so  successfully   started   in  Calcutta,   was   en- 
larged,  and   exerted  a  wide   influence  among  the 
Hindus.    Thus  in  preaching,  pastoral  work  and  edu- 
cation, nearly  forty  years  passed  away  in  India.  His 
strong  form  gradually  became  weakened  by  age  and 
enfeebled  by  disease.    He  was  temporarily  supplying 
the  English  chapel,  when  on  May  19,  1859,  he  was 
suddenly  taken  ill  with  his  old  affection  of  the  liver. 
In  India  diseases  are  few,  but  when  they  come,  they 
are  deadly  and  quick.     His  Christian  friends  soon 
became  alarmed  about   his  condition,  and  a  daily 
prayer  meeting  was  held  to  pray  for  him.  One  min- 
ister in  them,   referring  to  him,   said,  "Who  ever 
thinks  of  Mr,  Lacroix  as  belonging  to  the  London 
Missionary  Society?     He  belongs  to  us  all."     La- 
croix's  prayer  in  the  midst  of  his  great  suffering 
was :  "O  Lord,  counterbalance  by  Thy  presence  the 
pain  which  I  now  feel."    He  dwelt  continually  in  his 
thoughts  on  God's  presence.    One  day  a  member  of 
the  family  was  about  to  repeat  some  amusing  re- 
mark just  made  by  one  of  his  grandchildren,  when  he 


The  Reformed  Church.  187 

said :  "No ;  don't  tell  me.  Speak  to  me  only  of  heav- 
enly things."  Two  weeks  of  suffering  passed  away, 
when,  July  2,  he  suddenly  grew  worse.  His  nephew, 
Dr.  Vos,  felt  it  right  to  inform  him  that  his  end  was 
approaching.  "So  much  the  better,"  he  replied. 
Often  his  mind  wandered  through  the  disease,  but 
his  friends  had  only  to  speak  the  name  of  Jesus,  and 
at  once  a  heavenly  smile  broke  over  his  wasted  face. 
"His  interviews  in  his  sickness  with  missionaries  of 
all  denominations,"  says  one,  "were  most  affecting; 
and  his  love  to  them  and  theirs  for  him  is  best  illus- 
trated by  Paul's  farewell  at  Miletus."  He  fell 
asleep  in  Jesus  on  the  eighth  of  July,  1859.  -^  great 
company  followed  him  to  his  grave,  including  the 
Episcopal  Bishop  of  Calcutta.  The  native  Chris- 
tians carried  the  coffin  from  the  hearse  to  the  grave. 
And  a  few  days  after.  Rev.  Dr.  Duff  preached  to  one 
of  the  largest  congregations  ever  gathered  in  Cal- 
cutta on  such  an  occasion,  on  "Know  ye  not  that 
there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man  fallen  this  day  in 
Israel?" 

Lacroix  was  a  remarkable  man  in  many  ways.  In 
addition  to  his  remarkable  ability  as  a  preacher,  he 
excelled  as  a  linguist.  He  could  preach  well  in  five 
languages  before  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age. 


i88  Great  Missionaries  of 

The  distinguishing  characteristics  of  his  disposition 
were  his  exceeding  amiabiHty  and  sound  sense. 
I  Next  to  William  Carey,  says  Smith  the  historian 
of  India  missions,  was  Lacroix  as  a  preacher  to  the 
Bengali  in  their  native  tongue.  The  epitaph  on  his 
tomb  is :  "As  a  preacher  to  the  heathen  he  excelled, 
as  a  pastor  he  was  greatly  beloved,  as  a  man  of  un- 
doubted integrity,  wisdom  and  benevolence  he  was 
implicitly  trusted,  as  a  Christian  he  was  universally 
honored." 


Chapter  II. 
JOHN  SCUDDER. 

One  of  the  saints  among  modern  missionaries  was 
Rev.  John  Scudder,  for  thirty-six  years  missionary 
to  India.  The  universal  respect  in  which  he  was 
held  by  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  reveals 
his  high  spiritual  power  as  a  missionary.  Rev.  J.  L. 
Phillips,  secretary  of  the  Sunday-school  work  in 
India,  says  of  him :  "He  was  one  of  the  most  godly 
men  I  ever  met."  He  was  also  a  surgeon — like 
Luke,  a  beloved  physician — but  also  like  Paul,  an 
evangelistic  missionary. 

He  was  born  at  Freehold,  New  Jersey,  on  Sep- 
tember 3,  1793.  He  very  early  showed  traits  of  mis- 
sionary activity.  Some  missionaries  are  born,  others 
are  made — made  so  by  the  grace  of  God.  He  was  a 
born  rnissionary;  for  frorn^his  early_childhooii  lie 
showed  the  mijisionary  spirityOne  day  he  was  found 
drawing  a  very  heavy  rail,  and  was  asked  what  he 
expected  to  do  with  it.  His  reply  was :  "I  am  taking 
it  to  Miss  Becky,  who  has  no  fire."  Indeed,  he  was 
accustomed  to  gather  sticks,  in  order  to  kindle  the 
fires  of  the  destitute.  There  was  a  neighbor,  a 
drunkard,  who  abused  his  wife,  even  driving  her 

189 


190  Great  Missionaries  of 

from  home  at  midnight,  so  that  she  had  to  seek 
shelter  in  her  father's  house.  One  day  John,  who 
frequently  went  to  him,  said  to  him :  "Why  do  they 
call  you  'Devil  John?'"  The  man's  wife  was  very 
much  frightened,  as  she  was  afraid  her  husband 
would  hurt  John  for  asking  such  a  question.  Then 
John  asked  him:  "If  you  will  throw  away  your 
bottle,  I  will  keep  Lent  with  your  wife"  (for  she 
was  an  Episcopalian).  Strange  to  say,  the  man  as- 
sented. John's  words  were  a  message  of  God  to  him. 
The  man  then  became  an  abstainer,  and  joined  the 
church.  And  long  after,  when  John  was  a  missionary 
in  India,  he  sent  a  message  to  the  old  man  :  "I  charge 
you  to  meet  me  in  heaven,"  which  very  much  af- 
fected him.  / 

He  then  attended  Princeton  College,  but,  unlike 
some  students,  he  did  not  forget  his  Christian  char- 
acter while  there.  The  direct  opposite  was  true,  for 
he  was  always  on  the  lookout  for  souls.  Although 
infidelity  ruled  the  colleges  in  his  day,  and  _onb^ 
three  out  of  the  one  hundred  ^nd  twenty  students  at 
Princeton  werejrofessingiChristiana,  yet  he  labored 
as  a  Christian  among  the  students.  He  was  rated 
by  others  as  "so  religious  that  they  dared  hardly 
laugh  in  his  presence."     But  that  very  remark  led 


The  Reformed  Church.  191 

another  student  to  seek  his  companionship,  whom 
he  soon  after  brought  to  the  Saviour.  For  when 
Scudder  found  he  was  serious,  he  took  him  on  a 
walk  to  the  woods,  and  there  led  him  to  give  himself 
up  to  Christ  in  prayer.  Having  graduated,  181 1,  he 
studied  medicine  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  in  New  York  City,  and  then  located  there. 
As  yet  missions  were  little  known,  or  this  born 
missionary  would  have  naturally  gravitated  toward 
them.  But  he  became  a  missionary  physician,  often 
leading  his  patients  to  a  greater  Physician  than  him- 
self. He  early  soiTght  a  church  home,  and  found  it 
in^the  Refojmed,  Dutch- churchy  on  Franklin  street, 
of  which  Rev.  Mr.  Bork  was  pastor.  (Mr.  Bork 
had  been  a  Hessian  soldier  from  Germany,  and  had 
been  converted  in  this  country  through  Rev.  Dr. 
Livingston's  preaching  in  a  barn.)  Dr.  Scudder  did 
not  rest  until  in  the  family  where  he  boarded,  the 
mother,  two  daughters  and  one  son  were  brought 
into  the  Church.  But  sometimes  his  experiences 
were  sad  as  well  as  glad.  He  was  called  one  day  to 
see  a  sick  girl  in  one  of  the  tenements.  He  took  a 
friend  along,  who  tells  the  story.  The  young  girl 
was  beautiful  with  the  paleness  of  death.  And  yet 
she  groaned — and  such  a  groan.    The  doctor  spoke 


192  Great  Missionaries  of 

to  her  tenderly  about  Jesus.  But  her  look  showed 
that  to  her  that  name  was  agony.  She  cried  out : 
"Pray  for  me — I  am  lost."  They  knelt  and  prayed, 
weeping  as  they  did  so.  She  would  break  out,  while 
they  prayed,  with  exclamations,  "Pray  on ;  don't 
stop ;  O  I  am  lost !"  Soon  her  spasms  stopped  their 
prayers,  and  with  an  awful  groan  she  passed  away. 
We  now  come  to  his  call  to  become  a  missionary. 
How  strangely  God  calls  the  attention  of  men  to  the 
mission  field.  How  often  a  book  does  it.  'IBrainr 
erd's  Diary"  led  Carey  to  go  to  India.  And  the 
"Star  of  the  East/'  by  Buchanan,  Jed_Judson  to 
Burmah.  So,  too,  one  day  when  Scuddei^was  visit- 
ing a  Christian  patient,  he  found  on  ji  table  in  her^ 
room  ajaook,  whose  title  at  once  attracted  his  at- 
tention, "The_C^iversion  of  the  World,  or  the 
Claims  of  Six  Hundred  Millions."  He  borrowed 
the  book,  read  it,  and  reread  it.  It  was  a  Macedo- 
nian cry  to  him.  He  fell  on  his  knees,  asking,  like 
Paul :  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  God 
answered  in  calling  him  to  a  foreign  land.  He  then 
anxiously  and  prayerfully  announced  to  his  wife  his 
decision.  Nobly  she  answered  like  Ruth :  "Whither 
thou  goest,  I  will  go."  But  many  of  his  associates 
thought  otherwise,  some  even,  like  Festus  with  Paul, 


The  Reformed  Church.  193 

thinking  that  he  was  mad  for  giving  up  his  fine 
practice  and  throwing  himself  away  on  the  heathen. 
But  his  decision  being  once  made,  he  never  flinched. 
He  appHed  to  the  American  Board  to  know 
whether  they  would  send  a  physician.  How  won- 
derful are  the  cross  purposes  of  Providence,  A  call 
comes  from  one  end  of  the  earth,  and  at  the  same 
time  its  answer  from  the  other.  It  happened  that 
just  as  he  offered  himself  the  American  Board  was 
asked  for  a  physician  in  India  who  could  practice 
medicine  as  well  as  preach.  They  gladly  accepted 
his  offer,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  him  to 
sail  from  Boston.  Now  the  sailing  of  a  missionary 
in  those  days,  being  much  less  common  than  today, 
was  a  remarkable  event.  On  June  8,  1819,  a  large 
company  gathered  to  see  him  off.  Some  looked 
upon  him  as  going  to  bury  himself  alive.  Yet  his  face 
shone  so  radiant  with  hope  that  [t  left  a  deep  impres- 
sion on  all  who  were  presents/Among  those  present 
was  James  Brainerd  Taylor,  who  from  that  moment 
devoted  himself  to  Christ.  Taylor  said :  "What  is  it 
that  lifts  this  missionary  into  the  precincts  of  heav- 
en ?  Surely  he  is  possessed  with  the  spirit  and  tem- 
per of  his  Master."  Young  Taylor  went  to  his 
home  so  deeply  impressed  that  he  could  not  return 


194  Great  Missionaries  of 

to  business.  He  retired  into  prayer,  and  soon  after 
left  business  for  Christian  work ;  and  after  most  re- 
markable labors  for  Christ,  went  home  to  his  reward 
at  the  age  of  twenty^^/' 

Dr.  Scudder  was  now  on  board  the  brig  "Indus," 
bound  for  Calcutta.  He  had  as  companions  three 
other  missionaries.  It  was  a  long  journey  of  many 
months.  He  did  not  wait  until  he  arrived  in  India 
before  he  began  his  missionary  work.  As  he  had 
been  a  missionary  at  home,  he  now  became  a  mis- 
siona£y_on_shipboard.  He  began  distributing  Bibles 
and  tracts  among  the  sailors.  It  soon  became  evi- 
dent that  some  of  them,  in  the  loneliness  of  the  voy- 
age, were  reading  them.  About  two  weeks  after 
they  sailed,  one  of  the  sailors  fell  overboard  and 
came  very  near  losing  his  life.  That  evening  Dr. 
Scudder,  with  two  of  the  other  missionaries,  went 
forward  among  them  and  impressed  on  them  the  im- 
portance of  preparing  for  death. 

Soon  the  fruits  began  to  appear.  Strange  to  say, 
the  first  was  one  of  the  most  hardened,  as  he  had 
ridiculed  religion  when  he  came  on  board.  But  on 
the  evening  when  the  missionaries  spoke  to  them 
about  the  sailor  who  fell  overboard,  this  man  be- 
came impressed  and  determined  to  break  off  from 


The  Reformed  Church.  195 

his  sins.  But  as  he  was  an  infidel,  and  had  sneered 
at  the  "holy  brotherhood,"  as  he  called  the  mission- 
aries when  they  came  aboard,  he  now  had  to  pass 
through  the  deepest  struggles  of  conviction  before 
he  found  Christ.  The  next  to  submit  was  a  young 
man  who,  too,  had  ridiculed  the  missionaries.  He 
began  reading  a  Bible  they  gave  him,  but  finding  its 
way  of  salvation  too  hard,  he  gave  up  reading  it  and 
took  up  "Baxter's  Saints'  Rest,"  hoping  to  find  in 
it  an  easier  way  to  heaven.  He  soon  found,  how- 
ever, that  it  taught  just  what  the  Bible  did.  He  was 
finally  brought  to  Christ  through  reading  the  "Life 
of  John  Newton."  These  two  were  the  first  fruits — 
the  harbingers  of  greater  blessings  yet  to  come. 

Suddenly,  when  they  had  been  out  at  sea  three 
months,  the  Spirit  of  God  came  down  upon  them 
like  a  wind,  and  within  a  week  there  was  not  a 
thoughtless  sinner  aboard.  This  was  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  awakenings  ever  known  on  ship- 
board. There  was  no  excitement  connected  with  it. 
It  did  not  come  as  the  result  of  a  series  of  meetings, 
for  five  of  those  convicted  of  sin  were  alone  when 
convicted.  The  very  silence  of  the  movement  made 
it  the  more  impressive.  The  first  mate,  who  had 
ridiculed  religion  and  was  a  Universalist,  while  in 

14 


196  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  act  of  having  the  harpoon  raised  to  strike  a  fish, 
was  struck  with  the  arrow  of  conviction.  He  be- 
came so  humbled  with  his  guilt  that  "he  felt,"  he 
said,  "below  the  dog  they  had  on  board."  Then  it 
was  the  second  mate's  turn.  (It  looked  as  if  God 
was  calling  the  ship's  roll  for  converts.)  While  up 
in  the  rigging,  the  Spirit  of  God,  stronger  than  the 
wind  then  blowing,  convicted  him,  and  after  a  ter- 
rible struggle  with  darling  sins,  he  soon  rejoiced  in 
Christ,  and  even  longed  to  be  ridiculed  for  Christ, 
as  he  had  once  ridiculed  Christians. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  trophy  was  the 
cook,  one  of  the  most  profane  men  aboard.  He  hap- 
pened to  overhear  two  of  the  sailors  talking  about 
the  Holy  Spirit's  work,  and  said  in  fun,  "May  God 
grant  that  the  Spirit  of  God  may  light  on  every  soul 
on  board."  That  night  what  he  said  in  fun  came  to 
him  in  awful  earnest.  The  Holy  Spirit  terribly  con- 
victed him  of  sin,  and  soon,  from  being  a  cross, 
morose  man,  he  became  pleasant  and  obliging,  be- 
cause Christ  had  found  him.  A  man  by  the  name  of 
Parker,  who  was  so  profane  that,  as  he  said,  he 
"blasphemed  enough  to  damn  a  thousand  souls," 
swore  at  the  captain  for  urging  them  to  become  bet- 
ter.   But  the  blasphemer,  too,  became  a  follower  of 


The  Reformed  Church.  197 

Christ.  Thus  the  Spirit  went  from  man  to  man, 
converting  the  steward,  the  carpenter  and  others  by 
His  power.  It  was  a  modern  Pentecost — a  foretaste 
of  heaven.  At  length,  after  this  blessed  season  of 
grace,  they  at  last  arrived  at  Calcutta. 

When  Mr.  Scudder  arrived  in  India,  he  located  in 
that  paradise  of  earth,  Ceylon,  whose  spicy  breezes 
are  fragrant  many  miles  out  at  sea,  where 

"Kvery    prospect    pleases 
And  only  man  is  vile." 

He  located  at  Panditeripo,  in  July,  1820.  Here 
he  began  his  work  as  a  preacher  and  a  physician. 
Many  came  to  him  for  medicine,  and  as  he  healed 
their  bodies,  Christ  through  him  healed  their  souls. 
In  182 1  he  was  ordained  there  to  the  ministry.  There 
were  also  missionary  schools  for  boys  and  girls  at 
Panditeripo  and  in  the  neighborhood.  These  Mrs. 
Scudder  took  charge  of,  while  he  went  out  to  hos- 
pital practice  or  else  on  preaching  tours  through  the 
villages.  God's  Spirit  soon  showed  Himself,  espe- 
cially in  the  schools,  as  now  and  then  a  boy  or  girl 
united  with  the  Church.  These,  however,  were  only 
the  first-fruits,  the  harbingers  of  the  coming  har- 
vest. For  after  he  had  been  at  work  there  for  four 
years,  a  modern  Pentecost  took  place.    We  will  let 


198  Great  Missionaries  of 

his  wife   describe  it,  by  giving  extracts  from  her 
letters. 

She  says:  "The  evening  of  February  12,  1824, 
will  ever  be  a  memorable  night  to  us.  On  that  day 
we  went  to  Baticalo  in  the  afternoon  to  converse 
with  the  boys  in  that  school.  A  meeting  was  held 
with  our  boys  in  the  evening  before  we  went.  After 
the  meeting,  it  being  moonlight,  many  of  the  boys 
were  engaged  in  playing.  They  left  their  play  and 
began  spreading  their  mats  upon  which  they  sleep. 
Amy  (the  servant)  told  Whelpley  to  go  to  the  chil- 
dren and  talk  to  them  about  their  souls.  He  ac- 
cordingly went  to  them,  spoke  a  few  words  and  then 
left  them.  Very  soon  the  voice  of  prayer  was  heard 
in  the  garden.  This  increased  until  from  every 
part  of  the  garden  was  heard  the  cry :  'What  shall  I 
do  to  be  saved?'  When  we  returned  home  from 
Baticalo,  the  doors  and  windows  were  all  open, 
the  moon  shining  brightly,  and  our  servant  was 
weeping  on  the  veranda.  The  heart-rending  cry 
was  heard  from  every  part  of  the  garden  :  'To  whom 
shall  I  go?'  'Have  mercy  on  me,  Lord  Jesus.'  'O  give 
me  Thy  Holy  Spirit.'  'I  have  been  a  great  sinner,' 
and  many  more  expressions  of  great  earnestness, 
which  seemed  to  proceed  from  broken  hearts  of  sin. 


The  Reformed  Church.  199 

"After  learning  that  they  had  been  in  this  affect- 
ing way,  crying  for  mercy  more  than  an  hour,  the 
Doctor  thought  it  prudent  to  ring  the  bell  and  call 
them  to  the  house.  They  came  with  tears  stream- 
ing down  their  cheeks.  Upon  looking  round  upon 
the  precious  flock,  we  found  them  to  be  twenty-nine 
in  number — all  in  the  school  except  four.  We  con- 
versed and  prayed  with  them.  In  the  afternoon  of 
that  day  the  Doctor  had  sent  word  to  the  boys  for 
those  who  were  willing  to  forsake  all  for  Christ  to 
come  to  him.  Sixteen  came.  One  proud  boy  said 
he  would  not  give  up  all  for  Christ ;  but  in  the  even- 
ing it  would  have  melted  a  heart  of  stone  to  have 
seen  that  boy  bowed  down  like  a  bulrush  and 
scarcely  able  to  speak  for  sobs  and  tears.  As  a  re- 
sult of  this  remarkable  awakening  in  the  mission 
station,  forty-one  were  admitted  to  the  Church ;  and 
although  thirty  of  the  scholars  desired  to  join  the 
Church,  only  half  were  admitted  because  of  the  vio- 
lent opposition  they  would  have  to  suffer  from 
the  heathen  around." 

After  this  glorious  awakening  Dr.  Scudder  con- 
tinued in  Ceylon  till  1836,  when  it  was  deemed  wise 
that  he  should  change  his  residence  to  Madras  in 
India.    In  this  large  city  he  labored,  as  he  had  done 


200  Great  Missionaries  of 

in  Ceylon,  with  great  faithfulness  and  success.  He 
sometimes  suffered  insult  in  his  missionary  jour- 
neys. Several^ Jimies^hejwas  stoned.  His  journey 
through  the  jungle  in  1841  was  a  record  of  danger 
and  sacrifice.  But  God  protected  him  from  wild 
beasts  and  wild  men,  until  jungle  fever  laid  him 
low.  When  he  had  recovered,  1842,  he  was  ordered 
back  to  America  to  recuperate.  He  spent  about 
three  years  in  his  native  land.  When  asked  in 
America  what  were  the  discouragements  of  mission- 
ary work,  he  replied :  "I  do  not  know  the  word.  I 
long  ago  erased  it  from  my  vocabulary."  He  was 
greater  than  Napoleon  who  ruled  the  word  "impos- 
sible" out  of  his  dictionary,  saying  it  was  the  lan- 
guage of  fools.  Dr.  Scudder's  "discouragements" 
were  only  encouragements  to  greater  work.  But  al- 
though in  a  Christian  land,  he  did  the  work  of  a 
missionary.  He  went  about  everywhere,  stirring  up 
the  churches  to  missionary  activity.  During  that 
time  he  traveled  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  and  ad- 
dressed, it  is  said,  100,000  children  and  youth  upon 
the  subject  of  missions. 

His  success  among  the  children  was  very  remark- 
able. The  diaries  of  many  of  them  related  that  "Dr. 
Scudder  of  India  asked  me  this  day  if  I  would  not 


The  Reformed  Church.  201 

give  my  heart  to  Jesus,  and  if  I  grew  up  I  would  be 
a  missionary  and  come  to  India."  And  many  years 
after,  when  these  children  had  grown  up,  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Mission  Board  bore  testimony  to  the  re- 
sults of  his  tour — that  the  applicants  for  missionary 
work,  when  asked  what  led  them  to  think  of  mis- 
sions, would  often  reply:  "Dr.  Scudder's  addresses 
and  appeals  to  me  when  I  was  a  child."  His  minis- 
try at  home  was  therefore  as  successful  as  his  min- 
istry among  the  heathen.  But  he  was  glad  to  return 
to  India,  for  he  said :  "There  is  no  place  like  India ; 
I  it  is  nearer  heaven  than  America." 

He  returned  in  1846  to  do  a  good  work  at  Madura 
and  then  at  Madras.  On  one  of  his  tours  an  im- 
mense crowd  collected  together.  A  band  of  fierce 
Musselmen  demanded  books  of  his  helper,  who  car- 
ried the  tracts.  When  he  refused,  one  of  them  ad- 
vanced, brandishing  a  club,  with  which  he,  sup- 
ported by  his  angry  companions,  would  no  doubt 
have  killed  him  and  Dr.  Scudder ;  but  the  latter,  with 
admirable  self-possession,  ran  up  to  the  enemy,  and 
stroking  his  beard,  exclaimed:  "My  brother,  my 
brother!"  This  token  of  Oriental  obeisance  ap- 
peased him,  and  the  missionary's  life  was  spared. 
Dr.  Scudder  confessed  afterward  that  he  felt  the 


202  Great  Missionaries  of 

danger  so  imminent  that  the  saliva  dried  up  in  his 
mouth  as  if  parched  by  long  thirst.  But  his  exces- 
sive labors,  aided  by  bereavements,  again  broke  him 
down,  and  he  went  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in 
South  Africa  to  recuperate.  Here,  worn  out  as  he 
was,  he  again  began  a  campaign  for  missions,  such 
as  had  been  so  successful  in  America.  But  just  be- 
fore  a  public  meeting  he  laid  down  to  rest  and  sud- 
denly fell  asleep  in  Jesus  JarmaixJ^i  1855.  Thus 
ended  a  life  of  remarkable  success.  Dr.  Scudder 
was  one  of  the  first  medical  missionaries  and  one  of 
the  ablest.  He  was  a  man  of  rare  tact  and  noble 
courage./ But  above  all  shone  the  rare  spirituality 
of  his  character  and  his  devotion  to  Christ.  Two 
and  a  half  hours  of  every  day  were  set  apart  for 
meditation  and  prayer.  Every  Friday  till  midday 
was  spent  in  fasting  and  prayer.  He  walked  con- 
stantly with  God,  and  like  Enoch,  he  was  not,  for 
God  took  him.  / 

"No  stronger,  more  versatile  or  more  successful 
missionary  pioneer  ever  evangelized  a  people  as 
healer,  preacher,  teacher  and  translator,"  says  Smith 
the  historian  of  Indian  Missions.  He  lived  in  pray- 
ing and  working  till,  although  he  knew  it  not,  he 
realized  his  ambition  in  this  world,  "to  be  one  of  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  203 

inner  circle  around  Jesus."  His  descendants  to  the 
fourth  generation  became  missionaries.  Of  his  son 
Silas  he  said,  "Make  him  a  Christian,"  and  "Make 
him  a  missionary."  But  the  son  resisted,  deter- 
mined to  make  a  fortune  as  a  physician  in  New 
York  City  where  he  founded  a  woman's  hospital. 
But  he  was  powerless  against  his  father's  prayers, 
and  went  as  a  medical  missionary  to  Arcot,  India, 
where  his  institution  was  the  admiration  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  Madras  and  English  noblemen.  /The  Scud- 
der  family  has  given  thirty  persons  to  the  cause  of 
missions,  and  up  to  1896  their  united  labors  repre- 
sented 529  years  for  India.  There  was  not  a  town 
in  southeast  India  that  had  not  heard  the  gospel 
from  his  lips,  not  a  village  that  his  JEamil  publica- 
tions did  not  penetrate. 


Chapter  III. 
JACOB  CHAMBERLAIN. 

One  of  the  greatest  living  missionaries  is  Rev. 
Jacob  Chamberlain,  of  Southern  India.  He  was 
born  at  Sharon,  Connecticut,  April  i8,  1835.  He 
graduated  at  Western  Reserve  College  in  1856,  and 
at  the  New  Brunswick  Theological  Seminary  in 
1859.  In  that  year  he  sailed  for  India  under  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  Dutch  Board,  having  taken  a 
course  in  medicine  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  at  New  York  City,  and  also  at  the  Cleve- 
land Medical  College.  He  was  one  of  the  early 
medical  missionaries,  but  found  it  an  exceedingly 
great  help  to  him  in  his  evangelistic  tours.  When 
he  entered  the  Arcot  mission  in  India,  1859,  he 
learned  the  Tamil  language  as  he  expected  to  labor 
among  the  Tamils.  But  he  was  transferred  (1863) 
to  a  district  which  spoke  the  Telugu  language.  So 
his  life  has  been  spent  in  working  among  them  since 
1863,  making  his  centre  at  Mardanapalle,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  inland  from  Madras.  There  he 
did  a  large  work  in  a  large  field,  his  territory  being 
as  large  as  the  whole  of  the  State  of  Connecticut. 
For  many  years  he  was  the  only  physician  in  that 


2o6  Great  Missionaries  of 

area.  Before  he  returned  home  in  1874,  that  is  in 
fifteen  years,  he  had  personally  treated  30,000 
patients. 

His  literary  labors  are  shown  by  the  fact  that  he 
was  chairman  of  a  committee  of  all  the  missions 
who  labored  among  the  Telugus,  and  who  aimed  to 
produce  a  translation  of  the  Bible  in  that  language 
which  is  spoken  by  eighteen  millions.  In  1863  he 
made  an  extended  missionary  tour  of  four  months, 
going  northward  through  the  countries  of  the 
Nizam  of  Hyderabad  and  of  the  Ghronis  and  Kios 
who  had  never  seen  a  missionary.  He  thus  de- 
scribes some  of  the  scenes : 

"On  a  certain  occasion  I  went  into  a  native  city  in 
India,  where  the  name  of  Jesus  had  never  been 
heard,  to  preach  for  them  Jesus  and  his  salvation 
and  to  scatter  among  them  His  Word.  As  an  in- 
troduction we  had  assembled  an  audience  in  the 
street.  I  asked  my  native  assistant  to  read  the  first 
chapter  of  Romans — that  chapter  which  those  (in 
Christian  lands)  who  call  themselves  too  liberal- 
minded,  tell  us  is  too  black  to  be  true — a  libel  on 
human  nature.  That  chapter  was  read.  The  most 
intelligent  man  in  the  audience,  a  Brahmin,  stepped 
forward  and  said  to  me :  'Sir,  that  chapter  must  have 


The  Reformed  Church.  207 

been  written  for  us  Hindus.  It  describes  us  ex- 
actly.' What  a  proof  that  Scripture  was  written 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  who  searcheth  the  hearts  of  men 
just  as  he  does  the  deep  things  of  God." 

"On  another  occasion  I  went  into  a  city  where 
Jesus  had  never  been  proclaimed.  As  we  passed  up 
the  street  I  noticed  a  small  Hindoo  temple  built  upon 
the  side  of  the  busiest  street  with  its  doors  open  and 
idols  at  the  farther  end  so  that  passers-by  could 
worship  as  they  went.  At  the  side  of  the  door  sat  a 
Brahmin  priest  to  receive  the  worship  and  gifts  of 
the  people  passing  by.  Going  up  the  street  and  find- 
ing no  better  place  I  returned  to  this  temple  and 
asked  permission  to  speak  from  its  steps.  The 
Brahmin  gave  it  politely.  Singing  a  song  to  bring 
the  people  together,  we  soon  had  the  street  packed. 
I  took  for  my  theme  the  character  of  the  Being 
whom  an  intelligent  person  would  like  to  worship  as 
God.  I  attempted  to  show  that  he  must  be  stronger 
than  ourselves;  omnipotent  (that  we  can  trust  him) 
omniscient,  omnipresent,  a  God  of  love,  justice,  etc. 
I  painted  the  picture  of  our  God  without  telling  them 
where  He  could  be  found.  The  intelligent  men 
said  :  'Yes  ;  my  picture  was  true.'  I  then  asked  :  'Who 
is  God  and  where  is  He  ?    The  Brahmin  priest,  sus- 


2o8  Great  Missionaries  of 

pecting  my  object  was  to  undermine  his  faith,  tried 
to  divert  the  people.  He  straightened  himself  up 
and  drew  his  finger  across  his  stomach  saying :  'Sir, 
this  is  my  god;  when  this  is  full  my  god  is  propi- 
tious ;  when  this  is  empty  my  god  is  angry.  Only  give 
me  enough  to  eat  and  drink  and  that  is  all  the  god 
I  want.'  I  turned  and  reminded  the  bystanders  of 
the  pure  God  I  had  been  describing  and  then  by  way 
of  contrast,  I  pointed  them  to  his  god.  He  slank 
away  amid  their  sneers  and  vanished  down  a  side 
street.  How  the  audience  listened  when  I  described 
our  God  incarnate  in  Jesus." 

He  passed  through  many  perils  which  he  most 
vividly  describes  and  applies  in  his  tracts  and  his 
two  books  "In  the  Tiger  Jungle"  and  "The  Cobra's 
Den."  He  is  an  inimitable  story  teller,  bringing 
home  the  religious  application  with  telling  power. 
He  thus  describes  a  hair-breadth  escape  on  this  tour : 

"I  wish  you  could  have  witnessed  a  scene  in  the 
kingdom  of  Hyderabad.  There,  in  a  city— a  walled 
town,  of  about  18,000  inhabitants,  the  people  had 
arisen  to  drive  us  out,  because  we  tried  to  speak  of 
another  God  than  theirs.  We  had  gone  into  the 
market  place,  and  I  had  endeavored  to  preach  to 
them  of  Christ  and  His  salvation  but  they  would 


The  Reformed  Church.  209 

not  hear.  They  ordered  us  to  leave  the  city  at  once, 
but  I  had  declined  to  leave  until  I  had  delivered  to 
them  my  message.  The  throng  was  filling  the 
streets.  They  told  me  if  I  tried  to  utter  another 
word  I  should  be  killed.  There  was  no  rescue.  They 
would  have  the  city  gates  closed  and  there  would 
never  any  news  go  forth  of  what  was  done.  I  must 
leave  that  city  at  once  or  I  would  not  leave  it  alive. 
I  had  seen  them  tear  up  the  paving  stones  and  fill 
their  arms  with  them  so  as  to  be  ready.  And  one 
of  them  was  saying  to  another :  'You  throw  the  first 
stone  and  I  will  throw  the  next.'  By  an  artifice  I 
need  not  stop  to  detail  I  succeeded  in  getting  per-* 
mission  to  tell  them  a  story  before  they  stoned  me 
and  then  they  might  stone  me  if  they  wished.  I  told 
them  the  story  of  all  stories — of  the  love  of  the 
Divine  Father  that  had  made  us  all  of  one  blood, 
who  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  His  only  begot- 
ten Son.  I  told  the  story  of  that  birth  in  the  manger 
at  Bethlehem,  of  that  wonderful  childhood,  of  that 
marvelous  life,  of  those  miraculous  deeds,  of  the 
gracious  words  He  spoke.  I  told  them  the  story  of 
the  cross  and  pictured  in  graphic  words,  that  the 
Master  gave  me  that  day,  the  story  of  the  Saviour 
nailed  upon  the  cross  for  them,  for  me,  for  all  the 


2IO  Great  Missionaries  of 

world,  when  he  cried  out  in  agony:  'My  God,  my 
God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me.'  When  I  told 
them  that,  I  saw  the  men  go  and  throw  their  stones 
into  the  gutter  and  come  back,  and  down  the  cheeks 
of  the  very  men  that  had  been  clamoring  the  loudest 
for  my  blood  I  saw  the  tears  running  and  dropping 
on  the  pavement  they  had  torn  up.  And  then  I 
told  them  how  he  had  been  laid  in  the  grave  and  how 
after  three  days  He  had  come  forth  triumphant  and 
had  ascended  again  to  heaven  and  that  there  He 
ever  lives  to  make  intercession  for  us,  for  them,  for 
all  the  world,  and  that  through  His  words  every 
one  of  them  might  receive  remission  of  sins  and 
eternal  life.  I  told  them  I  had  finished  my  story  and 
they  might  stone  me  now.  But  no,  they  did  not 
want  to  stone  me  now.  They  did  not  know  what  a 
wonderful  story  I  had  come  to  tell  them.  They 
came  forward  and  bought  Scriptures  and  Gospels 
and  tracts  and  paid  money  for  them,  for  they  want- 
ed to  know  more  of  that  wonderful  Saviour  of  whom 
I  had  told  them."  He  then  adds  one  of  his  apt  ap- 
plications :  "Brother  minister,  we  can  not  find  any- 
thing better  than  the  old,  old  story  to  proclaim.  Let 
us  do  our  work  under  the  original  commission  of 
Christ — 'Preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.'  Then 
we  shall  succeed." 


The  Reformed  Church.  211 

Another  very  remarkable  story  in  his  Hfe  was  his 
escape  in  answer  to  prayer.  On  this  tour  he  found 
himself  overtaken  by  the  rainy  season  and  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  jungle,  where  the  ground  was  cov- 
ered with  water  and  where  lurked  fever  and  man- 
eating  tigers.  He  applied  to  the  governor  for  forty 
coolies  or  bearers.  And  the  governor  furnished  a 
guard  over  them  so  that  they  would  not  run  away. 
But  alas,  they  had  not  gone  far  before  both  coolies 
and  guard  vanished  rather  than  face  the  terrors  of 
the  jungle  at  that  season.  He  proceeded  as  best  he 
could  to  the  next  station  where  he  demanded  assist- 
ance. The  governor  said :  "No."  But  Dr.  Chamber- 
lain produced  the  firman  of  the  government  com- 
pelling every  one,  under  severe  penalties  if  he  re- 
fused, to  assist  him.  The  governor  secured  forty 
coolies  and  Dr.  Chamberlain  paid  them  in  advance 
so  as  to  insure  their  staying  and  watched  them  so 
that  they  did  not  desert.  His  objective  point  was  a 
cataract  sixty  miles  away  where  they  expected  to 
find  a  boat  on  which  they  could  float  down  the  river. 
Above  the  cataract  a  boat  could  not  be  found  and  the 
river  had  overflowed  its  banks.  All  day  they  waded 
in  the  jungle  under  the  alternations  of  heavy  show- 
ers and  boiling,  sickening  sun.  Toward  evening 
15 


212  Great  Missionaries  of 

they  met  two  hunters  returning  and  running  if  pos- 
sible to  reach  the  highlands  before  dark,  as  they 
were  afraid  of  the  wild  beasts  of  the  jungle  at  night. 
They  told  Dr.  Chamberlain  that  there  was  not  a  hill 
or  a  hillock  where  he  could  pitch  a  tent  for  the  night, 
nothing  but  water  endlessly  stretched  out  like  what 
they  had  been  splashing  through  all  day.  Must  he 
and  his  band  perish  ?  He  said  that  in  his  extremity 
he  prayed  while  on  horseback  to  his  covenant  God : 
"O  Lord,  I  am  helpless  to  extricate  myself  from 
this  dangerous  situation.  Yet  I  am  thy  servant  and 
in  obedience  to  the  command  of  the  Lord  Jesus  have 
come  to  India  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen. 
In  His  service  I  have  been  brought  into  this  diffi- 
culty and  peril.  Be  pleased  to  show  me  where  I 
can  go."  Immediately  an  answer  came  as  distinctly 
pronounced  in  his  ear  as  ever  words  were  spoken  in 
the  ears  of  anybody :  "Turn  to  the  left,  go  down  the 
river  and  you  will  find  what  you  need."  Immedi- 
ately he  conferred  with  his  guides  who  assured  him 
of  the  folly  of  proceeding  in  that  direction.  Then 
came  the  voice  again  repeating  the  direction  first 
given.  Consulting  with  his  guides  again  he  was 
told  that  the  river  had  overflowed  its  banks  and  it 
was  impossible  that  a  rescue  could  come  from  that 


The  Reformed  Church.  213 

direction.  For  the  third  time  the  voice  came,  "Turn 
to  the  left,  proceed  to  the  river  and  you  will  finiT 
what  you  want."  Then  as  master  of  the  company 
he  gave  the  order  to  turn  to  the  left  and  coming  to 
the  river — what  did  he  see?  The  very  thing  he 
needed  most,  a  large  flat  boat  and  in  it  two  boatmen. 
They,  mistaking  him  for  an  English  officer,  began 
to  apologize  for  the  boat's  appearance  at  so  strange 
a  spot.  They  said  the  flood  in  the  river  had  loos- 
ened the  boat  from  its  moorings,  and  that  "the  devil 
himself  seemed  to  be  in  that  boat,"  for  despite  all 
their  efforts  to  the  contrary  it  persisted  in  floating 
to  the  spot  where  it  was  found  by  Dr.  Chamber- 
lain. Armed  as  he  was  with  the  authority  of  the 
British  government,  he  took  possession  of  it,  and 
found  it  just  broad  enough  to  allow  the  spreading  of 
his  tent,  under  which  he  slept  undisturbed  by  the 
hungry  tigers  whom  he  heard  howling  in  the  jungle. 
It  was  not  the  devil  that  was  in  that  boat  as  they 
blasphemously  declared,  but  the  Lord  was  in  it,  caus- 
ing it  to  come  to  the  rescue  of  his  missionary. 

The  next  morning  they  continued  floating  down 
the  river  until  they  came  to  the  next  cataract  where 
he  found  another  boat  and  relief  from  all  anxiety. 
This  was  a  most  remarkable  answer  to  prayer. 


214  Great  Missionaries  of 

Nowhere  is  he  more  happy  than  in  his  tracts  based 
on  some  incident  in  his  life  or  in  India.  His  most 
famous  tract  has  been  the  one  entitled  ''Winding  up 
a  Horse."  Its  influence  has  been  so  great  that  it  has 
brought,  it  is  said,  $30,000  into  the  treasury  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Foreign  Board.     He  says: 

"Nineteen  years  ago  (i860)  I  bought  in  Madras  a 
peculiar  kind  of  horse.  He  had  to  be  wound  up  to 
make  him  go. 

It  was  not  a  machine,  but  a  veritable  live  horse. 
When  breaking  him  to  go  in  the  carriage  he  had 
been  injured.  An  accident  occurred  in  starting  him 
the  first  time,  and  he  was  thrown  and  hurt  and 
frightened.  It  made  him  timid;  afraid  to  start. 
After  he  had  once  started  he  would  not  balk,  until 
taken  out  of  the  carriage.  He  would  start  and  stop 
and  go  on  as  many  times  as  you  pleased,  but  it  was 
very  difficult  to  get  him  started  at  first  each  time 
he  was  harnessed  to  the  carriage. 

He  was  all  right  under  the  saddle,  an  excellent 
riding  horse,  and  would  carry  me  long  distances  int 
my  district  work,  so  that  I  did  not  wish  to  dispose 
of  him,  but  I  could  not  afford  to  keep  two.  What- 
ever I  had  must  go  in  carriage  as  well  as  ride,  and  I 
determined  that  I  would  conquer. 


The  Reformed  Church.  215 

How  I  have  worked  over  that  horse !  At  first  it 
sometimes  took  me  an  hour  to  get  him  started  from 
my  door.  At  last,  after  trying  everything  I  had  ever 
heard  of,  I  hit  upon  an  expedient  that  worked. 

I  took  a  strong  bamboo  stick  two  feet  long  and 
over  an  inch  thick.  A  stout  cord  loop  was  passed 
through  a  hole  two  inches  from  its  end.  This  loop 
we  would  slip  over  his  left  ear  down  to  the  roots, 
and  turn  the  stick  'round  and  'round  and  twist  it  up. 

It  is  said  that  a  horse  can  retain  but  one  idea  at 
a  time  in  its  small  brain.  Soon  the  twisting  would 
begin  to  hurt.  His  attention  would  be  attracted  to 
the  pain  in  his  ear.  He  would  forget  all  about  a 
carriage  being  hitched  to  him,  bend  down  his  head 
and  walk  off  as  quiet  as  a  lamb.  When  he  had  gone 
a  rod  the  horse  boy  would  begin  to  untwist ;  soon  off 
would  come  the  cord,  and  the  horse  would  be  all 
right  for  the  day.    The  remedy  never  failed. 

After  having  it  on  two  or  three  times,  he  objected 
to  the  operation,  and  would  spring  about  and  rear 
and  twitch  and  back,  anything  but  start  ahead,  to 
keep  it  from  being  applied.  We  would  have  two  of 
us,  to  begin  to  pat  and  rub  about  his  neck  and  head. 
He  would  not  know  which  had  the  key.  All  at  once 
it  would  be  on  his  ear  and  winding  up.     The  mo- 


2i6  Great  Missionaries  of 

ment  it  began  to  tighten  he  would  be  quiet,  stand 
and  bear  it  as  long  as  he  could,  and  then  off  he 
would  go. 

It  never  took  thirty  seconds  to  get  him  off  with 
the  key.  It  would  take  an  hour  without.  After  a 
little  he  ceased  objecting  to  have  it  put  on.  He 
seemed  to  say  to  himself :  "I  have  got  to  give  in  and 
may  as  well  do  it  at  once,"  but  he  would  not  start 
v/ithout  the  key.  In  a  few  months  he  got  so  that,  as 
soon  as  we  got  into  the  carriage,  he  would  bend 
down  his  head  to  have  the  key  put  on,  and  one  or 
two  turns  of  the  key  would  be  enough. 

Then  the  key  became  unnecessary.  He  would 
bend  down  his  head,  tipping  his  left  ear  to  the  horse 
boy,  who  would  take  it  in  his  hand  and  twist  it  and 
off  he  would  go. 

My  native  neighbors  said,  "That  horse  must  be 
wound  up  or  he  cannot  run."  And  it  seemed  to 
be  so. 

When  he  got  so  that  the  "winding  up"  was 
nothing  but  a  form,  I  tried  to  break  him  of  that,  but 
could  not  succeed.  I  would  pat  him  and  talk  to 
him  and  give  him  a  little  salt  or  sugar  or  bread,  and 
then  step  quietly  into  the  carriage  and  tell  him  to 
go.    "No."    Coax  him.    "No."    Whip  him.    "No." 


The  Reformed  Church.  217 

Legs  braced,  every  muscle  tense  for  resistence.  A 
genuine  balk.  Stop  and  keep  quiet  for  an  instant, 
and  he  would  hold  down  his  head,  bend  over  his 
ear  and  look  around  for  the  horse  boy  appealingly, 
saying  very  earnestly  by  his  actions :  "Do  please 
wind  me  up.  I  can't  go  without,  but  I'll  gladly  if 
you  will."  The  moment  his  ear  was  touched  and 
one  twist  given,  off  he  would  go  as  happy  and  con- 
tented as  ever  horse  could  be. 

Many  hearty  laughs  have  we  and  our  friends  had 
over  the  winding  up  of  that  horse.  If  I  were  out  on 
a  tour  for  a  month  or  two,  and  he  was  not  hitched 
to  the  carriage,  or  if  he  stood  in  the  stable  with  no 
work  for  a  week  or  two  during  the  monsoon,  a  real 
winding  up  had  to  take  place  the  first  time  he  was 
put  in.  We  kept  him  six  years.  The  last  week  I 
owned  him  I  had  to  wind  him  up.  I  sold  the  patent 
with  the  horse,  and  learned  from  the  man  that 
bought  him  that  he  had  to  use  it  as  long  as  the  horse 
lived. 

I  was  thinking  about  that  horse  the  other  night 
when  it  was  too  hot  to  sleep,  and  I  suddenly  burst 
into  a  laugh  as  I  said  to  myself :  'T  have  again  and 
again,  in  the  membership  of  our  churches  at  home, 
seen  the  horse  that  had  to  be  wound  up,  in  all  mat- 
ters of  benevolence." 


2i8  Great  Missionaries  of 

Another  very  popular  tract  of  Dr.  Chamberlain  is 
entitled  "Break  Cocoanuts  over  the  Wheels."  He 
says: 

"It  was  twenty  years  ago.  We  had  recently  lo- 
cated in  the  heathen  town  of  Madanapalle,  India,  to 
commence  missionary  work  there. 

The  time  for  the  annual  drawing  of  the  great 
idol  car  through  the  streets  of  the  town  and  by  the 
banks  of  the  river  had  come.  Multitudes  of  votaries 
from  all  the  villages  around,  as  well  as  from  every 
street  of  the  town,  had  assembled  before  the  car. 
Great  rope  cables  were  attached.  Hundreds  caught 
hold  of  the  ropes.  Up  went  the  shout :  "Hari !  Hari ! 
Hayi !  Jayam !"  "Vishnu !  Vishnu !  Joy  and  Vic- 
tory!" "Now  pull,"  shouted  the  priests,  and  off 
went  the  three-storied  car  majestically  through  the 
streets,  amid  the  joyous  shouts  of  the  thousands  of 
spectators.  On  they  followed  it  to  the  river  bank. 
Libations  were  brought  and  poured  over  the  car, 
and  the  multitudinous  ceremonies  performed. 

Again,  with  similar  shouts,  they  began  the  pro- 
gress around  by  different  streets,  back  to  the  great 
temple  before  which  the  car  always  reposed  for  the 
year.  Half  way  back  and  the  car  came  to  a  stand. 
"Pull,"  shouted  the  priests.     Pull  they  did.     The 


The  Reformed  Church.  219 

ropes  snapped  with  the  strain.  All  the  wheels  were 
examined ;  no  stones  were  in  the  way ;  everything 
seemed  right.  The  ropes  were  tied  and  new  ones 
added.  More  votaries  caught  the  ropes.  "All  pull," 
shouted  the  priests.  All  bent  to  the  effort.  It  would 
not  move. 

A  pallor  came  over  the  crowd.  "The  god  is  an- 
gry and  will  not  let  his  chariot  move,"  was  whis- 
pered along  the  streets.  A  feeling  of  dread  shivered 
through  the  multitude.  "Yes,"  shouted  the  chief 
priest  from  the  car,  "the  god  is  angry.  He  will  not 
move  unless  you  propitiate  him.  Run  all  of  you 
and  bring  cocoanuts  and  break  over  the  wheels,  and 
as  the  fragrant  cocoanut  milk  runs  down  over  the 
wheels  the  god  will  accept  the  libation  and  gracious- 
ly allow  his  chariot  to  move  on  again.  Run,  and 
each  bring  a  cocoanut !    Run !" 

Men  and  boys  ran  for  the  cocoanuts ;  the  residents 
to  their  houses,  the  villagers  to  the  bazaars  to  buy 
or  to  their  friends'  houses  to  borrow.  Each  came 
back  with  his  cocoanut,  and  broke  it  over  one  of  the 
wheels.  The  cocoanut  milk  ran  along  the  streets. 
"Hayi!  Jayam,"  shouted  the  priests.  "The  god  is 
now  propitious."  "Hayi !  Jayam !"  "Joy !  Vic- 
tory!"   shouted   the    multitude.      "Now    pull    all!" 


220  Great  Missionaries  of 

shouted  the  priests.  The  people  took  heart;  dread 
passed  away ;  confidence  came.  They  seized  the 
ropes  and,  with  a  shout  that  resounded  in  the  hills 
a  mile  away,  they  gave  a  pull.  Off  went  the  car, 
and  soon,  with  singing  and  dancing,  they  had  it 
back  in  its  wonted  place.  And  as  the  crowd  scat- 
tered to  their  village  homes,  the  news  ran  through 
the  country:  "The  car  got  set;  they  could  not  move 
it  a  finger  breadth ;  but  each  man  brought  a  cocoanut 
and  broke  it  over  the  wheels,  and  then  on  it  went 
with  a  rush  to  the  temple." 

This  scene  flashes  upon  my  memory  as  I  read  the 
appeals  of  all  the  missions  for  enlargement  answered 
by  the  "empty  treasuries"  of  the  Missionary  Boards. 

God's  chariot  is  delayed.  His  Chariot  of  Salva- 
tion had  started  in  its  course  in  towns  in  India  and 
China  and  Japan  through  the  agency  of  the  Re- 
formed Church.  Have  the  people  lost  heart  that  it 
stands  still?     Has  discouragement  come  upon  us? 

"Run  for  cocoanuts."  Let  each  man  and  boy,  let 
each  woman  and  each  child  bring  what  would  be  to 
them  the  equivalent  in  value  of  a  cocoanut  to  the 
poor  Hindu,  as  an  offering  to  the  Lord,  and  the 
chariot  will  move  joyously  on." 

Others  of  his  inimitable  tracts  might  be  given  but 


The  Reformed  Church.  221 

space  forbids.  The  reader  is  referred  to  his  books, 
"The  Tiger  Jungle"  and  "In  tlie  Cobra's  Den,"  for 
other  stories  equally  good.  These  books  ought  to 
be  in  every  Sunday-school  library. 

Dr.  Chamberlain  still  continues  his  work  in  south- 
ern India.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  mis- 
sionaries at  the  Ecumenical  Conference  of  Missions 
at  New  York  City  in  1900.  Although  his  health  has 
failed  him,  yet  he  still  delights  to  tell  the  sweet  story 
of  Jesus,  and  to  preach  the  precious  doctrines  of  our 
Heidelberg  Catechism. 

The  Arcot  Mission  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  in  India,  has  been  greatly  blessed.  It  re- 
ports in  1 90 1,  2,442  communicants  in  24  churches, 
and  157  outstations;  167  Sunday-schools  with  5,406 
scholars. 


B— China. 

Chapter  IV. 
DAVID  ABEEL. 
Rev.  David  Abeel  was  one  of  the  pioneer  mission- 
aries of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  of  America.  He 
was  born  June  12,  1804,  at  New  Brunswick,  New 
Jersey,  of  parents  who  emigrated  to  America  from 
Amsterdam.  When  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  made  ap- 
plication to  the  West  Point  MiHtary  Academy,  but 
owing  to  the  great  number  of  appHcants,  he  was  in- 
duced to  withdraw  his  request.  Providence  had,  un- 
known to  himself,  determined  that  he  should  be  a  sol- 
dier in  a  higher  service  than  that  of  the  United 
States.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  med- 
icine, and  while  engaged  in  its  study,  came 
under  deep  religious  conviction.  Many  weary 
days  and  sleepless  nights  were  his,  as  he  strug- 
gled on  to  the  light.  Finally,  under  the  wise 
counsels  of  Rev.  Dr.  Livingston,  he  found  Christ, 
and  then  the  great  question  of  his  life  be- 
came: "How  can  I  do  the  most  for  the  Master?" 
In  1823  he  entered  the  theological  seminary  at  New 
Brunswick,  remaining  there  three  years.  During 
that  time  he  was  busy  in  mission  work.     While  in 

»»3 


224  Great  Missionaries  of 

seminary  he  wrote  down  the  following  resolution: 
"Conscious  of  the  importance  of  making  an  unre- 
served surrender  of  myself  to  the  service  of  Him 
under  whose  banner  I  have  enlisted,  I  would 
solemnly  determine,  by  the  restraining  influence  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  on  this,  the  15th  of  September, 
1825,  to  renounce  every  known  sin,  though  it  cost 
me  the  pain  of  plucking  out  an  eye  or  cutting  off  a 
hand,  and  of  living  as  far  as  possible  a  life  consistent 
with  my  high  vocation."  On  April  20,  1826,  he  was 
licensed  to  preach,  at  which  time  he  wrote:  "I  feel 
impressed  with  the  view  of  the  solemnity  and  deep 
responsibility  of  my  office.  My  life,  my  health,  my 
time,  my  talents,  all  that  I  have,  I  sincerely  desire 
to  consecrate  to  his  service.  And  now  would  I  come 
to  the  determination  in  my  Father's  strength  to  live 
a  life  of  faith  and  holiness — to  keep  myself  unspot- 
ted from  the  world — to  live  in  the  habitual  commis- 
sion of  no  sin — to  mortify  the  old  man  with  his  af- 
fections and  lusts.  Oh,  how  shall  I  preach  to  others 
that  which  I  practice  not  myself?  O  Thou,  great 
God,  I  have  no  strength  of  my  own ;  I  look  to  Thee 
lor  Thy  grace." 

He  was  called  that  year  as  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
church  at  Athens,   New  York.     He  describes  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  225 

place  as  being  in  morals  very  much  like  its  name- 
sake in  the  old  world.  But  he  bravely  began  his 
work,  at  first  in  a  school  house,  as  the  congregation 
had  no  church  of  their  own.  Earnestly  he  prayed 
for  the  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit,  and  the  Lord 
blessed  his  two  and  a  half  years'  ministry  there  to 
the  salvation  of  many  souls.  His  incessant  labors, 
however,  broke  down  a  frame  never  very  strong, 
and  he  was  forced  to  leave.  Meanwhile  he  had 
been  reading  missionary  works,  as  the  lives  of 
Brainerd  and  Martyn.  These  prepared  him  to  make 
his  ultimr^e  choice  for  missions.  Two  main  diffi- 
culties lay  in  his  way.  One  was  his  own  feeble 
health,  the  other  was  the  fact  that  he  was  the  only 
son  of  his  parents,  and  they  were  slow  to  give  their 
consent.  Just  then,  however.  Providence  opened  the 
way,  for  the  Seaman's  Friend  Society  wanted  some 
one  to  go  to  Canton,  in  China,  to  preach  to  the  sail- 
ors there,  and  the  American  Board  wanted  him  to 
prepare  to  preach  to  the  Chinese.  Hoping  that  a 
sea  voyage  would  build  up  his  health,  and  that  he 
would  get  an  opportunity  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen,  he  sailed,  October  14,  1829,  and  reached 
Canton  February  25,  1830. 

He  at  once  began  to  work  very  faithfully  among 


226  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  seamen,  but  after  laboring  thus  for  the  Seaman's 
Friend  Society  for  nearly  a  year,  he  was  transferred 
to  the  American  Board  for  whose  work  he  had  been 
preparing  by  spending  much  time  in  learning  the 
Chinese  language.  Yet  it  was  dangerous  to  study 
Chinese.  When  the  Chinese  teacher  was  instructing 
him,  he  kept  his  door  locked.  When  the  officers 
came  to  see  what  the  foreigners  were  doing,  the 
teacher  put  the  books  in  a  box  and  material  for  mak- 
ing shoes  on  the  top,  as  he  feared  he  might  lose  his 
head  if  it  were  found  out  that  he  taught  the  for- 
eigners Chinese.  As  Abeel  could  do  nothing  in  China 
because  foreigners  were  not  allowed  to  teach 
Christianity,  the  American  Board  ordered  him  to 
make  a  tour  of  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago  and 
visit  Java,  Borneo,  Siam  and  the  Dutch  missions 
there  that  he  might  labor  among  the  Chinese  scat- 
tered in  those  islands. 

During  these  voyages  he  distributed  Christian 
books,  held  religious  conversation  with  the  sailors 
and  with  the  Chinese.  While  at  Batavia,  he  stayed 
with  the  earnest  missionary,  Mr.  Medhurst,  and  en- 
gaged with  him  in  mission  work,  and  also  in  the 
study  of  the  Chinese  language. 

His  health  failing,  in  1833  he  was  compelled  to 


The  Reformed  Church.  227 

come  to  America.  During  the  voyage  his  health 
greatly  improved.  He  landed  in  1833  first  in  Eng- 
land, where  his  physicians  urged  him  not  to  sail  to 
America  during  the  winter.  He  then  went  to  Paris, 
where  he  stirred  up  interest  in  missions  by  holding 
missionary  meetings.  When  he  returned  to  Eng- 
land July  25,  1834,  he  described  the  degradations  of 
the  women  of  the  East.  He  showed  that  missionaries' 
wives  who  had  always  done  what  they  could,  were 
unable  on  account  of  family  duties  to  do  all  that  was 
necessary.  He  presented  an  appeal  to  the  Christian 
women  to  go  as  missionaries  to  their  sex.  This  re- 
sulted in  the  formation  of  a  Woman's  Missionary 
Society.  It  aimed  at  the  education  of  the  women  of 
China  and  the  East.  Other  societies  were  soon  form- 
ed— as  in  Scotland  in  1837.  The  Reformed  have 
therefore  the  honor  of  suggesting  the  organization 
of  the  first  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Societies, 
which  have  done  so  much  for  the  cause  of  missions. 

He  then  sailed  for  America,  and  on  account  of  his 
health  spent  the  next  winter  in  the  South.  But  every- 
where he  spoke  on  missions.  Much  of  his  time  was 
taken  up  in  visiting  colleges  and  theological  semi- 
naries. On  his  return  from  the  South,  he  visited 
the   churches   of   the   Dutch   Reformed   denomina- 

16 


228  Great  Missionaries  of 

tion,  producing  a  deep  impression  for  missions.  He 
also  endeavored  to  organize  the  first  Woman's  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  the  United  States,  at  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Bethune,  the  mother  of  Rev.  Dr.  Bethune. 
Rev.  Dr.  Anderson,  the  secretary  of  the  American 
Board,  was  present,  but  wished  them  to  defer  their 
organization.  Mrs.  Bethune  answered  him :  "What ! 
Are  the  American  Board  afraid  that  the  ladies  will 
get  ahead  of  them?"  Owing  to  Dr.  Anderson's 
wish,  there  was  a  division  among  those  present. 
Some  were  in  favor  of  going  on ;  others,  out  of  re- 
spect for  Dr.  Anderson,  were  anxious  to  wait.  Then 
Dr.  Abeel,  with  tears  rolling  down  his  face,  ap- 
pealed to  them  to  organize,  saying :  "What  is  to  be- 
come of  the  souls  of  those  who  are  ignorant  of  the 
offers  of  mercy  and  of  the  Bible?"'  Although  no 
Woman's  Society  was  organized  then,  yet  his  effort 
brought  forth  fruit  later  in  the  organization  of  the 
Union  ^lissionary  Society  at  New  York  in  1861, 
under  I^Irs.  Doremus. 

But  he  was  again  laid  aside  by  sickness.  He  at- 
tempted to  sail  for  China  in  October,  1836,  but  was 
prevented  by  a  sudden  attack  of  sickness.  He  was 
then  sent  to  the  West  Indies  to  recuperate.  Wliile 
at  St.  Thomas,  the  physician  discovered  that  he  was 


The  Reformed  Church.  229 

suffering  from  an  organic  disease  of  the  heart — an 
enlargement  which  interfered  with  the  action  of  the 
kings  and  might  prove  fatal  at  any  moment.  But 
being  resigned  either  to  live  or  die,  he  permitted 
nothing  to  interfere  with  his  favorite  work,  and 
went  on  in  his  labors  for  the  Lord.  Just  then,  when 
his  chances  of  returning  to  China  seemed  destroyed 
by  ill  health,  he  met  the  celebrated  Dr.  Griffin.  After 
they  had  conversed  together  about  the  spiritual 
needs  of  Eastern  Asia,  Dr.  Griffin  prophetically 
said :  "My  son,  your  work  is  not  yet  done  in  China 
— the  Lord  has  yet  much  for  you  to  accomplish  in 
that  place  for  His  glory."  Finally,  after  spending 
his  time  as  his  health  would  permit  in  speaking  in 
churches,  colleges  and  seminaries  about  missions, 
he  was  able  to  sail,  October  17,  1838. 

He  arrived  at  Canton  on  February  2,  1839, 
anxious  to  work  for  the  Master.  But  again  Provi- 
dence hindered  him,  for  the  opium  war  broke  out 
between  England  and  China.  He  was  therefore 
compelled  to  leave  Canton  for  Macao,  and  then  or- 
dered to  visit  the  different  Dutch  Reformed  mis- 
sions in  Borneo.  This  war,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  was  the  means  of  opening  up  China  to  mis- 
sions.    The  Chinese  wall  of  separation  fell  down 


230  Great  Missionaries  of 

like  the  walls  of  Jericho,  and  the  set  time  to  favor 
Sinim  (China)  had  come.  The  prospect  of  having 
access  to  four  hundred  millions  of  souls  was  very 
exhilarating  to  him.  He  returned  to  China  and 
landed  at  Amoy  in  1842,  ready  to  begin  permanent 
mission  work  among  the  Chinese.  He  settled  at  the 
island  of  Kolongsou,  about  half  a  mile  from  Amoy, 
where  he  could  live  under  British  protection.  And 
now  began  his  real  work  among  the  Chinese.  For 
twelve  years  he  had  been,  like  the  Apostle  Paul  in 
Adria,  driven  up  and  down  on  the  coast  of  China, 
without  being  able  to  find  entrance.  Now,  however, 
he  began  laying  the  foundations  of  the  successful 
Reformed  mission  at  Amoy. 

He  was  surprised  at  the  beginning  of  his  work  to 
receive  social  visits  from  high  Chinese  officials. 
Evidently  China  was  opening  up  to  the  Gospel.  His 
audiences  also  increased.  After  having  lived  in 
these  regions  for  so  many  years,  fettered  and 
tongue-tied,  such  liberty  and  receptivity  on  the  part 
of  the  Chinese  was  delightful.  In  1843  ^^  ^^" 
tempted  a  tour  inland,  but  found  it  very  dangerous, 
as  the  inland  Chinese  were  still  bitter  against  for- 
eigners. Still  he  scattered  religious  books  and  held 
personal  conversation  with  many  of  the  natives.    In 


The  Reformed  Church.  231 

June,  1844,  he  was  very  glad  to  welcome  his  fellow 
missionaries  and  successors,  Doty  and  Pohlman. 
Nor  did  they  come  too  soon,  for  two  months  later 
Dr.  Abeel  was  compelled  to  leave  his  post  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health. 

He  sailed  for  Hong-  Kong,  and  also  visited  the 
island  of  Quemoy,  near  Amoy.  Here  he  greatly  de- 
sired to  settle,  because  of  its  delightful  climate,  but 
alas,  he  was  not  permitted  to  stay.  He  tried  to 
preach  in  Chinese,  but  on  account  of  his  weakness 
and  the  irritation  of  his  lungs,  he  was  compelled  to 
stop.  His  last  sermon  was  on  the  text:  "Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest,"  a  very  fitting  topic  with  which  such  a 
sick  man  as  he  was  should  close  his  mission  to  the 
heathen.  Worn  out  in  body,  he  was  compelled  to 
return  to  America,  April  3,  1845.  To  avoid  the  next 
cold  winter,  he  went  to  Georgia,  and  then  returned 
for  the  summer.  Finally,  on  September  4,  1846,  he 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus  at  Albany,  New  York.  Twelve 
days  before  he  died  he  wrote :  "Wonderfully  pre- 
served !  With  the  kind  and  degree  of  disease  which 
generally  has  a  speedy  issue,  I  live  on.  All  things 
are  mine.  God  sustains  me  through  wearisome  days 
and  tedious,  painful  nights.     When  I  embarked  for 


232  Great  Missionaries  of 

home,  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  Hebrews 
was  blessed  to  the  production  of  the  assurance  of 
hope.  I  have  not  lost  it.  Death  has  no  sting.  Oh, 
may  the  Conqueror  continue  with  me  till  the  close 
and  then !" 

His  life  was  an  illustration,  like  Henry  Martyn's, 
of  how  weakness  of  body  can  yet  be  used  for  great 
labors  for  God.  No  Foreign  Mission  Board  today 
would  think  of  sending  out  any  one  as  sickly  as  Dr. 
Abeel,  yet  what  a  wonderful  work  he  did.  He  was 
a  man  of  no  peculiar  gifts  of  genius,  but  of  great 
solidity  and  strength  of  character.  His  was  rather 
the  genius  of  spirituality,  which  elevated  and  made 
brilliant  his  powers.  Rev.  Dr.  Anderson  says  of 
him:  "Our  brother  was  not  a  Paul,  nor  was  he  a 
Peter;  he  more  resembled  the  beloved  John.  He 
was  fitted  to  conciliate,  to  win.  He  was  a  good  pio- 
neer in  a  mission.  It  was  a  good  thing  for  the 
Amoy  mission  that  he  was  the  one  who  commenced 
it.  And  to  this,  among  other  favoring  Providences, 
we  owe  much  of  the  peculiarly  tolerant  spirit  among 
the  leading  Chinese  of  that  place." 

God  has  greatly  blessed  the  mission  which  he  was 
permitted  to  found.  The  Amoy  mission,  after  more 
than  fifty  years  of  work,  had  1,008  communicants. 


The  Reformed  Church.  233 

In  connection  with  the  Eng^lish  Presbyterian  mis- 
sion there,  it  is  doing  a  valuable  work.  That  mis- 
sion field  will  ever  remain  a  living  monument  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  Abeel  more  grandly  than 
does  St.  Paul's  cathedral  at  London  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  "Behold,  these 
shall  come  from  far,  and  lo,  these  from  the  north 
and  from  the  west  and  these  from  the  land  of 
Sinim."     Isa.  49:  12. 


Chapter  V. 
JOHN  VAN  NEST  TALMAGE. 

He  belonged  to  the  famous  Talmage  family,  Rev. 
T.  DeWitt  Talmage,  D.D.,  being  a  brother.  He  was 
born  at  Bound  Brook,  New  Jersey,  August  i8,  1819. 
The  home  of  his  boyhood  was  a  deeply  religious  one 
as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  four  brothers  from  it 
entered  the  ministry.  He  graduated  at  Rutgers 
College  in  1842,  and  from  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  New  Brunswick  in  1845.  Missions  early  claimed 
his  attention  as  a  boy.  Unknown  to  him  his  mother 
had  devoted  him  to  the  work  of  missions.  It  was, 
however,  an  address  by  Rev.  Mr.  Doty,  one  of  the 
missionaries  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  at 
Amoy,  China,  that  finally  led  him  to  a  decision. 
When  he  told  his  mother  of  his  decision,  "Oh, 
John,"  she  exclaimed,  "maternal  love  has  its  desire. 
I  prayed  God  for  this,  and  He  has  answered.  How 
can  I  object?" 

At  seminary  he  showed  such  proficiency  in  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew  that  his  name  was  later  men- 
tioned for  that  chair,  but  it  was  felt  that  he  could 
not  be  spared  from  China.  He  was  ordained  at 
Millstone,    New    Jersey,    August    26,    1846.      The 

236 


236    .  Great  Missionaries  of 

charge  to  him  was  given  by  Rev.  Mr.  Doty,  the  mis- 
sionary. In  the  audience  was  a  boy  of  eleven  years 
of  age  who  was  so  impressed  by  that  service,  that  he 
later  became  a  missionary  to  China,  Rev.  S.  L.  Bald- 
win, D.D.,  later  Secretary  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Missionary  Society  of  the  United  States.  As  the 
Dutch  Foreign  Mission  Board  was  not  able  to  send 
him  immediately  because  of  lack  of  funds  he  tempo- 
rarily became  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brodhead,  of 
the  Dutch  Reformed  church  of  Brooklyn,  and  might 
have  become  his  successor  had  he  desired,  but  his 
heart  was  set  on  China.  When  the  Board  was  ready 
to  send  him  they  found  him  ready  and  waiting  to  go. 
He  sailed  from  New  York  April  15,  1847,  and  on 
August  19  he  arrived  at  Amoy.  He  aimed  to  spend 
the  first  few  years  in  learning  the  Chinese,  but  an 
unexpected  event  led  to  his  return  to  America.  Rev. 
Mr.  Pohlman  had  been  shipwrecked  off  the  coast  of 
China,  an  event  which  so  unsettled  the  mind  of  his 
sister  that  it  was  deemed  best  to  send  her  home,  and 
Mr.  Talmage  was  appointed  to  accompany  her.  He 
arrived  at  New  York  August  23,  1849.  He  then 
made  an  extensive  tour  through  the  churches  of  his 
denomination  and  re-embarked  for  China  on  March 
16,  1850,  arriving  at  Amoy  July  16. 


The  Reformed  Church.  237 

He  was  then  placed  in  charge  of  a  new  enterprise 
in  the  northern  part  of  Amoy,  known  as  "At  the 
Bamboos,"  where  his  chapel  was  opened  December 
23,  1850.  There  he  preached,  prayed  and  worked 
for  nearly  twenty  years.  By  the  following  April  he 
had  thirteen  converts.  He  thus  tells  the  story  of  one 
of  his  early  converts.  The  man  gained  a  mere  liv- 
ing by  the  profits  of  a  small  shop  in  which  he  sold 
paper  candles  to  be  used  in  their  idolatrous  worship. 
As  he  came  under  the  influence  of  Christianity  he 
found  that  his  business  was  opposed  to  its  doctrines. 
He  had  a  hard  struggle,  but  Christ  conquered.  He 
gave  up  the  only  prospect  of  making  a  livelihood, 
with  no  prospect  before  him  and  his  family  of  any- 
thing but  starvation. 

A  mason  named  Khi  was  led  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian and  then  refused  to  work  on  Sunday.  His  em- 
ployer told  him  he  would  discharge  him  if  he  did 
not  work.  But  he  still  refused  and  was  therefore 
discharged.  After  trying  for  some  time  to  get  work 
and  failing,  Dr.  Talmage  recommended  him  to  a 
mason  who  was  doing  some  work  at  the  mission, 
and  the  latter  gave  him  work.  But  his  companions 
did  not  like  his  religion  and  soon  had  him  dis- 
charged.    As  Dr.  Talmage  had  an  empty  room  on 


238  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  first  floor  of  his  house,  he  let  Khi  stay  there.  Khi 
put  together  some  empty  boxes  and  laid  some  straw 
and  a  straw  mat  on  them  for  his  bed.  He  now  tried 
to  make  a  living  by  carrying  potatoes  about  the 
street  for  sale,  his  profits  being  two  to  four  cents  a 
day.  But  in  all  his  poverty  he  made  no  complaints. 
Winter  came  but  he  had  no  means  to  buy  clothing  or 
better  food.  Dr.  Talmage  said :  "His  room  was  right 
under  my  study.  Almost  every  night  I  would  hear 
his  voice  engaged  in  prayer  before  retiring  to  his 
straw.  Sometimes  he  would  pray  a  long,  long  time. 
The  first  thing  in  the  morning  I  would  hear  would 
be  his  voice  in  prayer.  I  knew  he  was  destitute,  but 
did  not  dare  aid  him  lest  it  might  lead  others  to  be- 
come Christians  from  unworthy  motives."  The 
poor  man  never  complained.  One  day  his  voice  was 
heard  in  prayer  earlier  than  usual  and  soon  after 
word  came  up  to  Dr.  Talmage  that  Khi  was  sick. 
He  went  down  and  found  him  in  the  greatest  desti- 
tution. He  gave  him  medicine  and  good  food  and 
had  his  room  made  warm.  The  next  day  the  mis- 
sionary called  him  to  his  study  to  give  him  a  little 
money  with  which  to  buy  food  and  clothing,  but 
had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  making  him  take  it.  He 
had  to  call  one  of  the  natives  to  intercede  with  Khi 


The  Reformed  Church.  239 

to  take  the  money,  for  the  latter  said  that  his  suffer- 
ings were  only  for  a  short  time,  that  they  were  much 
less  than  he  deserved  and  were  sent  to  teach  him 
not  to  love  the  world. 

Dr.  Talmage  early  began  literary  work.  Five 
years  after  his  arrival  he  issued  a  primer  which  was 
followed  by  a  translation  of  Pilgrim's  Progress  and 
parts  of  the  New  Testament.  His  most  important 
literary  w^ork  was  in  aiding  to  get  the  colloquial 
Chinese  printed  in  the  letters  of  our  alphabet  instead 
of  in  the  difficult  characters  of  the  Chinese.  His 
crowning  work  was  his  Amoy  Colloquial  Diction- 
ary which  brought  light  and  knowledge  to  thous- 
ands who  never  could  have  gained  it  by  reading  with 
the  harder  Chinese  characters. 

In  1853  he  passed  through  the  "Little  Knife"  re- 
bellion of  China,  which  was  led  by  the  "Heaven  and 
Earth  Society,"  and  which  aimed  to  overthrow  the 
Tartar  dynasty  from  the  throne  of  China.  Amoy 
was  attacked  in  May,  1853,  and  the  rebels  gained 
control  of  the  city.  He  and  his  members  held  a 
quiet  prayer  meeting  that  Sunday,  as  they  knew  not 
what  dangers  were  abroad.  An  evangelist  in  a 
neighboring  town  was  beheaded.  When  the  rebels 
gained  control  of  the  town  the  missionaries  were 


240  Great  Missionaries  of 

fearful,  as  they  did  not  know  how  they  would  feel 
toward  foreigners.  But  as  time  wore  on,  they  be- 
came somewhat  used  to  the  war  scenes,  and  he  hu- 
morously describes  the  results  of  a  battle  between 
the  ^Chinese  fleet  and  the  rebels  thus:  "Killed  none, 
wounded  none,  prisoners  none."  But  it  became 
more  serious  by  and  by,  for  his  house  was  struck  by 
a  cannon  ball.  The  shot  struck  a  pillar  and,  if  it 
had  gone  either  side  of  it,  it  would  have  come  into 
a  room  where  many  Chinese  were  gathered.  When 
the  army  of  the  Chinese  government  again  gained 
possession  there  was  much  shooting,  but  the  for- 
eigners were  not  hurt. 

But  the  work  of  the  Lord  went  on  in  spite  of  war. 
When  he  went  to  Amoy  in  1847,  the  entire  church 
membership  of  the  mission  was  three.  In  1850  it 
was  five,  by  the  end  of  185 1  it  was  nineteen.  In 
1854- 1855  there  was  a  great  revival.  His  congre- 
gation rejoiced  at  receiving  twenty-eight  in  1854. 
He  tells  an  interesting  story  of  one  of  them,  a  widow 
who  lived  about  fifteen  miles  from  Amoy.  Once 
"when  she  came  to  town  she  determined  to  enter 
the  missionary's  house  to  see  how  foreigners  lived. 
As  she  entered  she  was  jnet  by  the  person  who  had 
charge  of  the  chapel.    He  asked  her  business.    She 


The  Reformed  Church.  241 

replied  she  had  only  come  for  amusement.  He  re- 
plied, 'This  is  no  place  of  amusement  but  to  hear  the 
doctrine.'  'Well/  she  said,  'then  I  will  hear  the  doc- 
trine.' He  explained  to  her  some  of  the  truths  of 
Christianity.  He  told  her  that  after  breakfast  I 
would  be  in  the  chapel  for  worship.  She  went  to  a 
neighbor  to  get  her  breakfast.  But  the  new  doc- 
trine of  which  she  had  heard  took  such  a  hold  on 
her  mind  that  she  desired  no  breakfast  for  herself. 
As  she  listened  to  the  missionary  with  wonder,  she 
said :  'This  doctrine  cannot  be  of  man.  It  must  be 
the  great  power  of  God.'  From  that  time  she  was 
almost  always  present,  coming  from  her  home  al- 
most every  week  to  hear  the  gospel.  She  brought 
her  two  sons  with  her,  desiring  that  they  should  be- 
come Christians,  and  also  brought  some  of  her 
neighbors.  She  met  with  much  persecution  but  bore 
it  all  patiently.  After  her  baptism  she  rented  a 
room  at  Amoy.  When  the  missionary  asked  her 
how  she  expected  to  maintain  herself  at  Amoy,  she 
replied:  'If  she  could  not  get  as  good  food  as  others 
she  would  eat  coarser  bread.'  "  How  great  is  the  self- 
denial  of  the  heathen  convert !  Among  the  inquirers 
were  two  lads  who  were  severely  beaten  by  their 
parents   for  their   determination   to   follow   Christ. 


242  Great  Missionaries  of 

Dr,  Talmage  says :  "The  elder  of  them  was  scourged 
yesterday.  This  morning  he  is  again  tied  up  in  a 
very  painful  manner  and  beaten  by  his  father.  He 
carried  the  marks  on  his  arms  which  were  visible, 
and  had  others  on  his  body.  We  trust  they  are  the 
marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

When  the  negotiations  for  the  union  of  denomi- 
nations on  the  mission  field  were  begun  with  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  England,  he  heartily  favored 
the  union.  When,  in  1863,  the  General  Synod  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  refused  to  allow  their  mis- 
sion to  join  with  these  English  Presbyterians  in 
China,  Dr.  Talmage  stood  his  ground  on  the  floor  of 
the  General  Synod.  Though  defeated  that  year,  yet 
the  next  year  his  arguments  prevailed  and  the  Gen- 
eral Synod  reconsidered  its  action  and  ordered  the 
union  of  those  two  denominations  which  has  been 
so  richly  blessed  of  God.  The  years  1 870-1 871  were 
years  of  trial  to  him  on  account  of  the  anti-mission- 
ary agitation.  In  Canton  vile  stories  were  concocted, 
i.  e.,  that  the  foreigners  distributed  poisonous  pills, 
etc.  The  ferment  soon  reached  Amoy.  Inflamma- 
tory placards  were  posted  up  even  with  the  support 
of  the  Chinese  officials.  Foreigners  were  called  "little 
demons,"   and    were    charged    with   poisoning   the 


The  Reformed  Church.  243 

wells.  Native  Christians  had  to  suffer  much  perse- 
cution. Fortunately  the  war  cloud  blew  over  and 
the  opposition  ceased. 

In  1889  Dr.  Talmage  returned  to  America  ex- 
pecting to  go  back  again  to  China.  But  God  de- 
creed it  otherwise.  Forty-two  years  of  active  ser- 
vice had  so  overworked  him  that  he  died  at  the  home 
of  his  boyhood,  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  August  19, 
1892,  aged  73  years.  Says  Rev,  Dr.  E.  T.  Corwin: 
"He  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  missionaries.  He 
spoke  the  Chinese  language  like  themselves,  beauti- 
fully and  idiomatically.  For  ability,  for  fidelity,  for 
usefulness  he  had  few  equals."  This  Amoy  mission 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  reported  in  1901, 
1,392  communicants. 


17 


Chapter  VI. 

WILLIAM  E.  HOY  AND  THE  NEW  MISSION 

OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  THE 

UNITED  STATES. 

In  1899  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  the  United  States  decided  to  open  a  new 
mission  in  China.  The  Board,  therefore,  ordered 
Rev.  W.  E.  Hoy,  one  of  its  missionaries  to  Japan, 
to  go  to  China  as  the  Japanese  climate  did  not  at  all 
agree  with  his  health.  He  had  previously  visited 
China,  seeking  relief,  and  was,  therefore,  familiar 
with  it.  His  letters  and  appeals  to  the  home 
church,  made  after  the  Japan-Chinese  war,  had  been 
the  main  instrument  in  leading  the  church  to  take 
up  this  new  mission,  and  it  was,  therefore,  very  fit- 
ting that  he  should  be  appointed  to  it.  He  at  once 
went  to  China  and  after  canvassing  the  situation, 
selected  the  newly  opened  province  of  Hunan,  in 
Central  China,  as  the  location  of  the  mission.  This 
province  had,  a  few  years  before,  most  bitterly  op- 
posed Christianity,  all  sorts  of  scandalous  circulars 
and  tales  having  been  circulated  about  it.  But  since 
that  time  even  the  ringleader  in  that  movement  had 
become  an  inquirer  into  Christianity.     So  great  a 

245 


246  Great  Missionaries  of 

change  had  come  over  it  that  even  in  the  Boxer  re- 
bellion the  province  was  little  affected  against 
foreigners. 

Mr.  Hoy  had  been  a  pioneer  already  in  the  mis- 
sion in  Japan,  He  had  been  one  of  the  very  first  to 
go  to  Sendai  to  open  the  new  mission  there.  With 
Rev.  Mr.  Oshikawa  he  had  been  instrumental  in 
opening  a  boys'  school  there  which  afterward  grew 
into  a  College  and  Theological  Seminary.  When 
he  was  about  starting  it,  a  poor  widow  came  to  him, 
bringing  twelve  pieces  of  silver  which  she  had  col- 
lected to  defray  her  funeral  expenses  and  offered  it 
toward  the  founding  of  a  school  to  educate  evangel- 
ists. Thus  encouraged,  he  started  with  six  young 
men,  supporting  them  the  first  years  himself.  A 
pioneer  in  Japan,  he  was  fitted  to  be  a  pioneer  in 
Central  China,  too.  He  chose  Yochou,  near  Han- 
kow, in  Central  China,  as  the  seat  of  the  new  mis- 
sion. In  1902  the  Board  purchased  the  mission 
property  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  at  that 
place,  which  at  once  gave  the  mission  a  starting 
point  and  center.  The  mission  has  since  been 
strengthened  by  the  sending  out  of  the  first  medical 
missionary.  Dr.  Albert  Beam  and  his  wife,  who  is 
also  a  physician,  together  with  Rev.  W.  A.  Reimert 


The  Reformed  Church.  247 

and  Miss  Emma  Ziemer,  who  goes  as  a  teacher. 
Already  the  nucleus  of  a  school  has  been  formed. 
A  hospital  and  dispensary  will  be  opened  and  the 
work  will  spread  in  influence  and  increase  in  its  re- 
sults and  will  doubtless  be  a  factor  in  the  regenera- 
tion of  the  land  of  Sinim  (China). 


C— Japan. 

Chapter  VII. 
GUIDO  F.  VERBECK. 

One  of  the  greatest  of  modern  missionaries  of  the 
nineteenth  century  was  Rev.  Dr.  Verbeck.  Few 
men  have  been  accorded  such  great  opportunities  for 
poHtical  as  well  as  rehgious  influence.  "Verbeck  of 
Japan  the  greatest  under  God  ot  the  makers  of  the 
new  nation  that  is  coming,  and  even  now  is,"  is  the 
description  by  his  biographer  about  his  work  in  Ja- 
pan. He  stood  as  one  of  the  sponsors  at  the  found- 
ing of  the  new  Japan,  poHtically.  He  was  also  the 
one  Vv'ho  baptized  the  first  Protestant  convert  in  Ja- 
pan. He  was  a  many-sided  man,  first  an  engineer, 
then  a  preacher,  then  a  teacher  and  translator. 

He  was  born  at  Zeist  in  Holland,  January  23, 
1830,  his  father  having  been  a  German  Moravian 
pastor  there.  He  there  joined  the  Moravian  church 
and  attended  their  school.  From  the  Moravians  he 
received  some  of  his  missionary  inspiration  and  a 
visit  to  Zeist  by  Gutzlaff,  the  great  Chinese  mis- 
sionary, he  never  forgot.  At  this  Moravian  school 
he  became  master  of  four  languages:  Dutch,  Ger- 
man, English  and  French,  and  thus  began  his  re- 
markable linguistic  preparation  for  his  great  future. 

249 


250  Great  Missionaries  of 

As  he  was  born  in  the  year  that  railways  were  in- 
troduced into  Holland,  his  parents  thought  he  must 
become  an  engineer.  He,  therefore,  went  to  the 
Polytechnic  school  at  Utrecht.  Through  the  invita- 
tion of  his  brother-in-law.  Rev.  Mr.  Van  Deurs,  he 
was  led  to  come  to  this  new  world  in  1852,  and  lo- 
cated at  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  where  he  had  charge 
of  a  foundry.  He  tried  to  revolutionize  himself  into 
an  Americanized  Dutchman,  for  he  says :  "I  am  de- 
termined to  become  a  good  Yankee."  From  Green 
Bay  he  was  led  to  take  a  position  at  Helena,  Arkan- 
sas, as  draftsman  and  engineer.  It  was  while 
here  that  he  was  prostrated  by  a  severe  illness  which 
led  him  to  more  serious  reflection,  and  he  cove- 
nanted with  God  that  if  He  would  spare  his  life  he 
would  consecrate  his  life  to  Him  as  a  missionary. 
He  returned  to  Green  Bay  in  1854.  In  the  autumn 
of  1855  his  brother-in-law,  Rev.  Mr.  Van  Deurs, 
influenced  him  to  go  to  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Auburn,  New  York.  There  he  revealed  fine  abili- 
ties as  a  student  and  as  a  singer,  preaching  also  to  a 
German  congregation  in  Auburn. 

Meanwhile  great  changes  were  taking  place  on 
the  other  side  of  the  globe  preparing  for  his  future 
work.    Ray  Palmer  said  more  than  fifty  years  ago : 


The  Reformed  Church.  251 

"I  fancy  I  am  coming  back  to  the  world  five  hun- 
dred years  from  now  and  I  shall  see  Japan  opened 
to  the  Gospel."  He  did  not  need  to  wait  twenty-five 
years.  Commodore  Perry  had  conquered  Japan 
without  firing  a  gun,  and  that  hitherto  hermit  land 
was  thrown  open  to  the  gospel.  The  Dutch  Re- 
formed Board  had  decided  to  locate  a  mission  there 
and  was  looking  around  for  an  Americanized  Dutch- 
man to  go  there  as  missionary.  It  was  believed  that, 
as  the  only  Protestant  nation  with  whom  Japan  had 
had  any  business  relations  hitherto  was  Holland,  a 
Dutchman  would  probably  have  peculiar  influence, 
especially  as  that  language  had  hitherto  been  Ja- 
pan's only  medium  of  intercourse  with  the  west.  So 
he  was  appointed  by  the  Board  February  16,  1859. 
He  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Cayuga  March 
22,  and  received  by  the  Reformed  Classis  of  Cayuga 
the  next  day.  Before  going  to  Japan  he  deemed  it 
wise  to  take  out  papers  of  American  citizenship  but 
found  he  was  unable  to  comply  with  the  laws  on 
the  subject.  He  had  no  claim  to  citizenship  in  Hol- 
land as  his  father  had  been  a  German  and  not  a' 
Dutchman.  He  could  not  become  an  American  citi- 
zen. He  therefore  lived  "a  man  without  a  country," 
although   a  resident  of  three  lands,  Holland,  the 


252  Great  Missionaries  of 

United  States  and  Japan.  But  he  did  not  need  it. 
God  protected  him ;  his  citizenship  was  on  high.  He 
sailed  from  New  York  May  7,  1859,  and  reached 
Nagasaki,  Japan,  on  November  7,  1859,  after  a  voy- 
age of  about  six  months. 

His  Hfe  in  Japan  can  be  divided  into  three  periods 
of  about  ten  years  each ;  the  first  as  a  missionary  at 
Nagasaki,  the  second  as  an  educator  at  Tokio,  the 
third  as  a  translator  and  evangelist.  He  first  began 
to  learn  the  language  which  he,  with  his  fine  lin- 
guistic powers,  so  mastered  that  the  Japanese  said 
he  was  the  only  foreigner  who  could  speak  their 
language  without  his  foreign  nationality  being 
known,  so  correct  was  his  pronunciation  and  idiom. 
His  early  life  at  Nagasaki  was  in  the  time  of  dan- 
ger. When  he  arrived  there,  Japan  was  still  unset- 
tled about  its  reception  of  foreigners  and  foreign 
ideas.  Some  of  the  foreigners  were  assassinated  by 
the  reactionaries.  But  quietly  through  all  the 
changes  Verbeck  went  on  with  his  work.  When  he 
arrived  at  Japan  the  edict-boards,  threatening  death 
to  any  one  who  was  a  Christian,  were  still  seen 
along  the  roads. 

He  found  he  could  do  little  more  than  study  the 
language  and  make  friends  with  the  people.     He 


The  Reformed  Church.  253 

however  had  a  class  of  two  young  men  whom  he 
instructed  in  the  Bible  as  well  as  in  English. 
These  young  men  were  twice  promoted  and  to  show 
their  gratitude  to  Dr.  Verbeck  they  presented  him 
with  two  black  sucking  pigs,  which,  humorously 
says  Grififis,  his  biographer,  "showed  that  their  idea 
of  foreigners  was  that  they  were  fond  of  pork." 
The  governor  of  Nagasaki  found  the  two  Japanese 
students  of  Verbeck  so  useful  that  while  Ver- 
beck left  the  country,  1863-4,  because  of  the  politi- 
cal upheavals  there,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  a  train- 
ing school  for  interpreters  and  asked  Dr.  Verbeck  to 
act  as  principal  in  1866.  (From  that  time  till  1878 
he  was  self-supporting  because  in  government  em- 
ploy.) His  school  soon  had  over  one  hundred 
pupils.  It  brought  him  into  contact  with  the  brightest 
minds  of  the  young  men  of  Japan.  Into  this  school 
came  prominent  young  men,  as  the  two  sons  of  the 
prime  minister  Iwakura  and  others,  who  were  des- 
tined to  occupy  high  office  in  the  Japan  that  was  to 
come.  By  June  10,  1866,  he  had  the  joy  of  seeing  two 
of  his  pupils,  the  nephews  of  Yokoi  Heishiro,  start 
for  America,  the  first  of  a  procession  of  five  hundred 
or  more  who  were  aided  by  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  of  America. 


254  Great  Missionaries  of 

He  then  had  the  honor  of  baptizing  the  first  Jap- 
anese Christian.  Murata,  the  lord  of  Wakasa  and 
commander  of  the  army  of  his  province,  had  been 
guarding  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki  against  foreigners 
in  1855.  There  he  came  into  contact  with  the  few 
Dutchmen  who  had  been  allowed  to  trade  with  Ja- 
pan. One  of  them  gave  him  a  picture  of  the  seige 
of  Sebastopol  in  the  Crimean  War,  which  greatly 
impressed  him.  He  sought  to  learn  the  secret  of  the 
power  of  Christian  nations.  He  frequently  went  out 
at  night  in  a  boat  to  inspect  his  guard.  On  one  of 
these  occasions  he  saw  floating  on  the  water  a  little 
book,  different  in  language,  type  and  binding  from 
anything  he  had  yet  seen.  He  became  interested  in 
it,  after  finding  an  interpreter  who  could  read  it,  for 
it  was  a  Dutch  Bible.  It  told  him  about  the  Creator 
of  the  universe  and  about  Jesus.  The  more  he 
heard,  the  more  he  wanted  to  hear.  He  sent  one  of 
his  men  to  Nagasaki  ostensibly  to  study  medicine, 
but  really  to  find  out  from  the  Dutch  more  about 
this  book.  When  he  heard  there  was  a  Chinese 
translation  of  it,  he  secretly  sent  to  China  and  got  it. 
His  home  was  at  Saga  where  he  secretly  began  the 
study  of  the  New  Testament. 

God  was  arranging  to  bring  Murata  and  Verbeck 


The  Reformed  Church.  255 

together.  One  of  the  two  young  men  who  first  be- 
gan to  study  EngHsh  with  Verbeck  was  Ayabe,  Mu- 
rata's  younger  brother.  Ayabe  went  to  Nagasaki 
in  1862  in  order  to  gain  an  understanding  of  the 
Bible.  There  he  met  Dr.  Verbeck  who  answered  his 
questions  about  the  meanings  of  the  various  pas- 
sages of  Scripture.  Afterward  he  sent  his  relative 
Montono  to  Nagasaki  to  study  English  and  the 
Bible.  Dr.  Verbeck  taught  Wakasa  through  this 
channel,  Montono  serving  faithfully  as  a  messenger 
between  them  carrying  questions  and  answers  back 
and  forth,  for  nearly  three  years. 

Finally,  on  May  14,  1866,  Murata  with  Ayabe 
and  Motono  visited  Verbeck.  The  conversation 
lasted  for  hours.  Murata  said:  "Sir,  I  cannot 
tell  you  my  feelings  when  I  first  read  the 
account  of  Jesus'  character.  I  had  never  heard  of 
such  a  person.  I  was  filled  with  admiration,  over- 
whelmed with  emotion  and  taken  captive  by  His 
nature  and  life."  Then  Murata  asked  for  baptism 
for  himself  and  his  younger  brother.  Verbeck 
warned  them  that  there  was  no  magic  in  baptism  to 
save  them  and  also  warned  them  of  the  danger  in 
which  they  would  place  themselves  in  Japan  if  they 
became  Christians.    But  they  were  willing  to  suffer 


256  Great  Missionaries  of 

all  if  necessary.  So  on  the  next  Sunday  (May  20, 
1866)  the  three  men,  Murata,  Ayabe  and  Motono, 
were  baptized  in  Dr.  Verbeck's  parlor  at  Nagasaki, 
and  they  there  joyfully  joined  together  in  celebrating 
the  Lord's  Supper.  The  matter  was  kept  somewhat 
quiet.  Murata  reported  it,  but  the  prince  seeing  his 
firmness  left  them  alone.  The  Japanese  government 
ordered  Murata's  punishment,  but  all  that  was  done 
was  to  burn  some  of  his  books.  He  lived  a  Chris- 
tian life  and  died  in  1874. 

The  revolution  of  1868  was  essentially  a  students' 
revolution,  and  when  it  was  successful  the  young 
men  in  Tokio  felt  the  need  of  wise  counsel.  Instinc- 
tively they  turned  to  their  old  teacher,  Verbeck,  of 
Nagasaki.  They  invited  him  to  Tokio  to  lay  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Imperial  University.  Although  these 
men  were  not  Christians  neither  did  they  desire  a 
Christian  government,  yet  they  felt  that  in  Verbeck 
they  had  a  man  upon  whose  judgment  they  could 
rely,  and  on  whose  integrity  they  could  rest. 
"Nowhere,"  says  Bliss,  "in  the  annals  of  history 
has  there  a  grander  opportunity  come  to  any 
man,  and  nowhere  has  the  opportunity  been  more 
nobly  used." 

He  went  to  Tokio  in  1870,  and  through  his  in- 


The  Reformed  Church.  257 

fluence  two  very  important  political  movements  were 
begun.  He  organized  the  Imperial  University,  ap- 
pointing teachers  and  attending  to  its  many  details. 
He  was  authorized  by  the  government  to  call  teach- 
ers from  America  to  aid  in  the  new  education  of 
Japan.  By  1873  the  school  had  five  hundred  stu- 
dents, and  eighteen  teachers  of  four  nationalities. 

The  other  important  movement  was  his  proposi- 
tion of  an  embassy  from  Japan  to  the  United  States 
to  study  its  institutions.  This  embassy  came  here  in 
1872.  The  whole  arrangement  of  it — its  plan,  per- 
sonnel, etc. — was  entrusted  to  him.  He  was  sur- 
prised to  find  that  half  of  the  embassy  had  been 
pupils  of  his.  His  statesmanship  was  so  highly  ap- 
preciated that  Iwakura,  the  prime  minister,  fre- 
quently consulted  him  on  the  gravest  afiFairs  of  the 
State.  Griffis,  his  biographer  who  taught  in  Japan 
in  1870,  says  :  "I  saw  a  prime  minister  of  the  empire, 
heads  of  departments  and  officers  of  various  ranks 
come  to  him  for  information  and  advice.  Today  it 
might  be  a  plan  of  national  education,  tomorrow 
the  dispatch  of  an  envoy  to  Europe,  the  choice  of  a 
language  best  suited  to  medical  science,  how  to  act 
about  neutrality  between  France  and  Germany,  how 
to  learn  the  truth  about  some  foreign  diplomat  or 


258  Great  Missionaries  of 

concerning  the  persecutions  of  Christians  or  some 
serious  measure  of  home  policy."  All  this  showed 
the  great  confidence  of  the  government  in  his  judg- 
ment and  wisdom. 

In  1874  a  change  began  to  come  over  the  Jap- 
anese. Opposition  to  Christianity  began  to  lift  its 
head.  One  of  its  first  signs  was  an  attempt  to 
abolish  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest.  But  Verbeck  re- 
fused to  submit.  With  the  other  English-speaking 
teachers,  both  American  and  British,  he  protested 
against  it  as  a  breach  of  the  contract  made  with  them 
by  the  Japanese  government.  He  then  sent  a  note 
to  Mr.  Iwakura  who  speedily  settled  the  matter  to 
his  satisfaction.  In  1873  he  was  transferred  to  the 
service  of  the  senate.  Here  his  main  duty  was 
translator  of  legal  books  and  documents.  He  aided 
them  in  the  formation  of  a  national  constitution  of 
1889  and  the  treaties  of  1898  by  which  Japan  took 
her  place  among  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world. 
He  thus  became  not  only  the  founder  of  the  Impe- 
rial University,  but  a  maker  of  the  great  Japan  of 
the  future.  In  1877,  when  he  resigned  from  his  po- 
sition, the  emperor,  to  show  his  appreciation  of 
his  work,  bestowed  on  him,  although  a  foreigner, 
the  third  class  order  of  the  Rising  Sun.    Its  insignia 


The  Reformed  Church.  259 

was  a  central  circle  containing  a  fine  large  ruby. 
The  circle  is  surrounded  by  pointed  rays  in  gold, 
filled  in  with  white  enamel,  the  colors  being  those  of 
Japan,  and  the  symbol  that  of  the  sun  shining  in  its 
strength.  Above  the  symbol  is  the  three-leaved 
blossom  of  the  kiri  tree  (the  Paulonia  Imperialis), 
the  three  flowers  surmounting  the  leaves  all  in  gold, 
the  leaves  being  in  green  and  the  flowers  in  purple 
enamel.  The  Paulonia  flower  is  the  Emperor's  fam- 
ily crest.  Of  it  Verbeck  wrote:  "This  is  the  first 
piece  of  jewelry  I  ever  owned  and  also  indirectly  a 
tribute  to  the  cause  of  missions."  This  decoration 
was  not  only  an  honor  but  was  also  of  value  to  him 
at  times.  Thus  on  one  occasion  when,  owing  to  a  fire, 
he  could  not  get  through  the  streets  of  Tokio  to  an 
important  engagement,  he  simply  showed  this  deco- 
ration on  the  lapel  of  his  coat  to  a  policeman  and 
immediately  the  way  was  made  for  him.  While  thus 
attending  to  State  and  school  engagements  he  was 
also  active  in  the  Reformed  church  at  the  capital, 
the  Kojimachi  church. 

The  last  period  of  his  life  (1877-98)  was  one  of 
evangelism  and  translation.     He  went  everywhere 
through  the  empire  preaching  with  wonderful  pow- 
er.   He  had  been  teaching  in  the  Nobles  School,  but 
18 


26o  Great  Missionaries  of 

now  gave  himself  especially  to  spiritual  work. 
Great  crowds  attended  his  preaching  tours. 

In  1889  he  returned  to  America  visiting  his  birth- 
place, Zeist,  in  Holland,  on  the  way.  He  also 
awakened  great  missionary  interest  in  Holland  by 
his  addresses.  In  1891  he  returned  to  Japan  where 
he  was  busy  lecturing  in  the  Nobles  School  and  in 
the  theological  seminary  and  in  preaching.  He 
was  also  busy  in  translating  the  Bible  which  he 
had  begun  in  1881,  and  whose  completion  he  lived  to 
see.  The  translation  was  so  good  that  the  Psalms 
were  compared  in  beauty  and  majesty  to  the  famous 
Japanese  mountain  Fujiyama.  One  of  his  last 
works  was  the  preparation  of  an  address  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Emperor  of  Japan  on  the  occasion  of 
the  presentation  of  the  Japanese  Bible  to  him.  His 
great  activity  continued  until  1897,  when  his  physi- 
cian forbade  his  evangelistic  tours.  He  died  sud- 
denly on  March  10,  1898,  while  sitting  in  his  study- 
chair  just  after  he  had  taken  his  noon  meal. 

Some  of  the  highest  officers  and  noblemen  of  the 
empire  attended  his  funeral,  the  Emperor  sending 
$250  to  pay  the  expenses  and  ordered  two  companies 
of  soldiers  to  attend  the  body  to  the  grave,  the  burial 
lot  being  deeded  by  the  city  government.    Thus,  al- 


The  Reformed  Church.  261 

t1iough  he  was  a  citizen  of  no  country,  Japan  tried 
to  show  its  appreciation  of  his  great  services  to  her 
in  education,  statesmanship  and  religion.  So  lived 
and  so  died  the  man  who  fashioned  the  young  men 
who  made  Japan.  Probably  no  missionary  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  except  Livingston,  exerted  so 
far-reaching  and  so  lasting  a  political  influence  for 
Christianity.  In  moulding  the  Sunrise  Kingdom, 
he  moulded  the  Orient  of  the  twentieth  century. 
The  two  greatest  missionaries  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, in  their  political  influence  as  well  as  religious, 
have  been  David  Livingston,  who  opened  up  Africa, 
and  Guido  F.  Verbeck,  who  laid  the  foundations  of 
Japan.  The  first  was  the  greatest  missionary  to  the 
continent  of  Africa,  the  other  the  greatest  missionary 
to  the  continent  of  Asia.  The  first  was  laid  away  in 
Westminster  Abbey  amid  all  the  honors  of  England, 
the  last  buried  at  Tokio  amid  all  the  honors  of 
Japan. 


Chapter  VIII. 

THE  MISSION  OF  THE  REFORMED 
CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
This  Church  having  supported  Rev.  Benjamin 
Schneider,  D.D.,  in  Turkey  for  twenty-five  years, 
and  after  that  Rev.  Oscar  Lohr  in  India  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  finally  determined  in  1878  at  its  General 
Synod,  to  have  a  mission  of  its  own.  Its  Board 
chose  Japan  as  its  field,  and  on  September  30,  1878, 
it  appointed  its  first  missionary  thither.  Rev.  Am- 
brose D.  Gring.  He  sailed  May,  1879,  arriving  at 
Yokohama,  Japan,  June  i,  1879,  thus  making  June 
I,  1904,  the  quarter-century  anniversary  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Japan  mission.  The  Board  on 
April  26,  1880,  chose  Tokio,  the  capital  of  Japan,  as 
its  centre,  and  to  it  the  missionary  removed  in  June, 
1880.  Mr.  Gring  was  reinforced  by  Rev.  J.  B. 
Moore  on  October  i,  1883,  and  the  first  congrega- 
tion was  organized  May  11,  1884,  at  Nihon  Bashi, 
Tokio,  by  these  two  missionaries.  Mr.  Gring  re- 
turned to  this  country  in  1887  ^"^  resigned  from 
the  service  of  the  Board  in  1889.  Mr.  Moore  mean- 
while continued  the  work  with  gratifying  success 
as  the  Japanese  at  that  time  were  very  cordial  to- 

a63 


264  Great  Missionaries  of 

ward  foreigners,  especially  for  the  sake  of  learning 
English.  The  influence  of  the  mission  began  to 
show  itself  in  many  ways  even  among  the  upper 
classes  through  the  labors  of  Mr.  Moore  and  his 
wife.  Mrs.  Moore,  in  the  spring  of  1886,  had 
formed  a  class  of  ladies  belonging  rather  to  the  up- 
per class  for  the  study  of  English  and  the  reading 
of  the  Bible,  the  explanations  being  interpreted  by 
an  assistant.  In  this  class  was  a  Mrs.  Nakajima, 
who  soon  gave  proof  that  she  cared  more  for  the 
study  of  the  Bible  than  merely  for  the  study  of  Eng- 
lish. She  requested  by  and  by  that  her  husband 
might  be  allowed  to  accompany  her.  Mr.  Moore 
had  learned  that  both  had  been  reading  the  Bible  at 
home,  so  he  felt  no  hesitation  at  inviting  Mr.  Naka- 
jima to  become  a  member  of  his  Wednesday  evening 
Bible  class,  conducted  in  English  and  interpreted  by 
his  personal  teacher.  Both  became  regular  attend- 
ants of  the  Bible  class  and  also  of  the  Sunday  after- 
noon services,  held  in  the  dining  room  of  his  house. 
On  the  i8th  of  July,  1886,  these  two,  with  four 
others,  were  baptized  in  the  parlor  of  the  mission- 
ary's house  at  Bancho,  Tokio.  Mr.  Nakajima  had 
already  been  a  man  of  prominence  in  political  af- 
fairs, having  served  as  a  member  of  the  senate  and 


The  Reformed  Church.  265 

governor  of  the  province  in  which  Yokohama  is  lo- 
cated. On  the  25th  of  November,  1890,  when  Japan 
had  become  a  constitutional  monarchy,  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  lower  House  of  Japan,  hav- 
ing the  highest  number  of  votes  and  being  one  of 
three  candidates  submitted  to  the  Emperor  for  ap- 
pointment. The  Emperor  appointed  him.  He  has 
since  been  Minister  of  Japan  to  Italy.  His  wife  has 
been  a  poet  and  the  authoress  of  several  popular 
novels. 

But  Providence  was  preparing  the  mission  for  a 
new  centre  of  operations.  Mr.  Moore  was  called 
from  the  service  of  the  mission  to  become  a  teacher 
at  Yamagata  in  northern  Japan.  He  accepted  the 
position  on  condition  that  he  would  be  allowed  to 
speak  of  Christ,  although  a  government  teacher.  As 
a  result  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  sprang  up  there,  and  a  small 
congregation  which  is  now  under  the  care  of  Rev. 
H.  Miller.  He  afterward  became  a  teacher  in  the 
government  school  at  Sendai. 

Meanwhile  the  Lord  was  preparing  Sendai,  in 
northern  Japan,  to  become  the  centre  of  our  opera- 
tions. Christian  preaching  had  been  started  at 
Niigata  by  a  medical  missionary.  Dr.  Palm,  and  he 
sent  to  Tokio  for  some  one  to  act  as  pastor.     The 


266  Great  Missionaries  of 

pastor  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Tokio 
made  the  appeal  for  a  missionary  known  to  his  con- 
gregation. Now  there  was  in  his  congregation  an 
elder  named  Masayoshi  Oshikawa.  He  was  born 
December  i6,  1850.  When  nineteen  years  of  age  he 
was  selected,  with  several  other  young  men,  by  their 
feudal  lord  to  be  sent  to  the  Imperial  English  Col- 
lege at  Tokio  so  as  to  be  fitted  for  prominent  posi- 
tions in  the  government  service.  In  order  to  learn 
English,  although  bitterly  opposed  to  Christianity, 
he  yet  became  a  pupil  of  one  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
missionaries,  Rev.  James  Ballagh,  D.D.  But  the 
text-book  used  in  the  teaching  of  English  was  the 
Bible.  And  the  more  he  read  it  in  English  the  more 
he  read  it  into  his  own  heart.  One  day  after  he  had 
been  studying  it  for  nine  months,  Mr.  Ballagh  held 
a  prayer  meeting,  and  at  its  close  he  said:  "If  any 
one  of  you  desires  to  be  a  Christian,  let  him  place  a 
card  with  his  name  on  my  table."  To  his  surprise 
he  found  the  next  morning  the  names  of  nine  stu- 
dents, one  of  them  Oshikawa's. 

He  had  hardly  confessed  Christ  than  he  was  called 
to  his  home  five  hundred  miles  away.  There  he  suf- 
fered severe  persecutions  for  having  become  a  Chris- 
tian, his  father  threatening  to  take  his  life  if  he  did 


The  Reformed  Church.  2C7 

not  return  to  heathenism.  He  afterwards  learned 
that  it  was  only  through  the  interposition  of  his 
mother  that  his  life  was  spared,  although  she  had 
often  appealed  to  him  most  tenderly  for  her  sake  to 
return  to  heathenism.  But  he  stood  firm.  None  of 
these  things  moved  him,  neither  tears  nor  threats. 
He  was  finally  bidden  to  leave  home  and  went  to 
Tokio,  where  he  arrived  penniless.  He  then  studied 
theology  for  four  years  under  Rev.  S.  R.  Brown, 
D.D.,  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the  son  of 
the  authoress  of  that  beautiful  hymn  "I  love  to 
steal  awhile  away."  While  doing  this  he  became  an 
elder  in  the  Dutch  Reformed  church.  Then  came 
the  call  of  Dr.  Palm. 

It  was  on  a  Week  of  Prayer  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year  that  this  call  came  from  Dr.  Palm  for  a 
missionary  to  live  among  them.  There  was  no 
money  to  send  any  one,  nor  did  any  one  seem  ready 
to  go.  But  the  members  of  the  church  took  the  mat- 
ter to  God  in  prayer.  Finally  Oshikawa  rose  at  the 
end  of  the  meeting  and  said :  "I  must  and  will  go." 
His  friends  recounted  to  him  the  difficulties,  but  he 
simply  replied:  "I  must  and  will  go."  So  he  was, 
after  prayer,  consecrated  to  the  work.  As  he  was 
very  poor.  Dr.  Brown  gave  him  three  of  his  own 


268  Great  Missionaries  of 

suits,  fur  gloves  and  boots.  Unfortunately  the  coats 
were  much  too  large  and  the  boots  too  small,  but  fit 
or  no  fit,  he  would  go.  It  was  a  long  journey  over 
the  mountains  to  Niigata  from  whence  the  call  came. 
He  lost  his  way,  was  weary  and  hungry  and  was 
about  to  lie  down  in  the  snow  and  die.  But  just 
then  there  rang  out  in  the  air  the  sound  of  an  ax. 
He  made  his  way  a  little  farther  on  and  found  eleven 
woodcutters  who  took  him  to  their  cave  and  gave 
him  a  cupful  of  cold  and  dirty  rice.  He  fell  asleep. 
On  waking  the  first  words  he  heard  were  "J<^su 
Kirisuto,"  the  Japanese  for  "Jesus  Christ."  These 
men  were  reading  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  that 
they  had  received  from  a  missionary  the  previous 
summer.  They  could  not  understand  what  they 
read.  They  had,  however,  formed  a  temperance  so- 
ciety, taking  the  Ten  Commandments  as  their  con- 
stitution. Finding  he  was  a  Christian  they  asked 
him  to  stay  a  week.  He  stayed  three  days,  preaching 
and  teaching.  The  next  summer  they  were  all  bap- 
tized, and  some  of  them  became  preachers  of  the 
gospel. 

He  then  went  on  his  way  and  soon  arrived  at  the 
Niigata.  But  this  town  was  a  stronghold  of  the 
Buddhist  religion,   and   great   was  the   opposition. 


RKV.  DR.   VERBECK  IN    1897. 


The  Reformed  Church.  269 

He  was  stoned,  beaten,  spat  upon.  Women  poured 
dish  water  and  boiling  water  on  him  as  he  passed 
through  the  streets.  The  mob  determined  to  put 
him  to  death. 

The  mayor  of  the  city  resembled  him  in  appear- 
ance. One  morning  as  that  official  was  on  his  way 
to  his  office,  some  members  of  the  mob  saw  him  in 
the  distance  and  raised  the  cry:  "Here  comes  that 
Jesus-man.  Come,  let's  kill  him."  A  large  crowd 
gathered  and  gave  chase.  The  mayor  ran  into  the 
police  sentry  box  on  the  corner  of  two  streets  and 
locked  the  door  after  him.  The  mob  rushed  up, 
tore  off  the  roof,  and  lifted  the  man  out  bodily  and 
violently  put  him  to  death.  Oshikawa  was  very 
much  affected  by  this.  He  said :  "Two  persons  have 
died  for  me,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God  has  died  for  me.  And  now  the  faithful  mayor 
of  this  city  has  died  in  my  stead."  Still  God  pro- 
tected his  life  as  he  preached,  and  he  reported  four- 
teen converts. 

But  a  fire  broke  out  in  Niigata  burning  9,000 
houses,  and  there  was  no  place  where  they  could 
hold  service.  So  Dr.  Palm  and  Mr.  Oshikawa  left 
and  went  to  Sendai  where  the  people  seemed  to  be 
more  friendly  and  because  it  was  a  more  important 


270  Great  Missionaries  of 

place  than  Niigata.  His  audiences  soon  became 
large  and  interesting.  In  1887  they  purchased  an 
old  Buddhist  temple  as  a  place  of  worship  which 
seated  five  hundred.  Two  years  previously  (1885) 
Mr,  Oshikawa  and  his  congregation  made  applica- 
tion to  be  received  into  the  United  Church  of  Japan 
which  is  composed  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Re- 
formed churches  in  that  land.  He,  however,  stipu- 
lated two  conditions:  i.  The  establishing  of  a  Boys' 
and  Girls'  School.  2.  The  supply  of  money  for 
evangelistic  purposes.  Just  about  this  time  the  mis- 
sion of  our  church  was  received  into  the  United 
Church  of  Japan.  And  in  its  division  of  Japan 
among  the  different  denominations  composing  that 
church,  our  church  was  given  northern  Japan.  This 
new  church  at  Sendai  therefore  came  into  our  dis- 
trict and  we  received  without  any  effort  or  expense 
to  ourselves  the  largest  church  north  of  Tokio  into 
our  mission,  a  church  of  three  congregations  and 
two  hundred  members. 

In  1886  W.  E.  Hoy,  the  third  missionary  sent  by 
our  church,  located  at  Sendai.  He,  with  Mr.  Oshi- 
kawa, started  the  Boys'  School  which  has  since 
grown  into  a  College  and  Theological  Seminary,  of 
which  the  president  at  present  is  Rev.  D.  B.  Schne- 


The  Reformed  Church.  271 

der,  D.D.  These  have  done  a  most  excellent  work 
in  training  up  especially  ministers  and  evangelists 
for  our  mission. 

A  very  interesting  story  of  this  Boys'  School  is 
that  of  one  of  its  students,  Dengoro  Takahashi.  He 
was  born  June  15,  1871.  He  had  gone  to  Tokio 
and  taken  an  examination  in  the  Military  School,  for 
he  was  zealous  for  the  military  glory  of  his  country, 
but  failed.  He  bitterly  hated  Christianity.  But  as 
he  could  not  study  at  Tokio,  he  left  and  finally  was 
led  to  go  to  Sendai  where,  in  his  thirst  for  an  edu- 
cation, he  entered  the  Industrial  School  of  our  mis- 
sion. He  also  began  searching  the  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity and  was  finally  baptized.  His  next  step  was 
to  become  a  student  for  the  ministry  in  the  Theo- 
logical School.  He  became  very  active  in  religious 
work  at  Sendai. 

It  happened  that  the  Japanese  were  at  that  time 
very  anxious  to  enlarge  their  borders  and  colonize. 
No  place  seemed  open  to  them  but  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific.  Lieutenant  Gunji,  therefore,  organized  a 
colonization  society  to  colonize  the  Kurile  islands, 
and  on  his  way  thither,  in  the  fall  of  1893,  he  called 
to  see  Mr.  Oshikawa.  The  latter  urged  the  lieu- 
tenant to  take  some  one  along  to  look  after  the  re- 


272  Great  Missionaries  of 

Hgious  interests  of  the  colonists.  The  lieutenant 
finally  yielded  and  said,  "Have  you  any  students 
who  would  be  willing  to  go?"  "Yes,  we  have 
many,"  replied  Oshikawa,  and  Takahashi,  who  was 
standing  by,  said :  "Here  am  I.  I  will  go."  Although 
he  expected  to  face  death  in  this  expedition,  he 
feared  nothing.  At  the  farewell  meeting  in  the  Sen- 
dai  church  he  said  he  "hoped  to  make  his  bones  the 
pillars  of  a  church  and  his  flesh  its  walls."  His  go- 
ing caused  a  sensation  in  Japan,  for  by  it  the  Chris- 
tians were  doing  more  than  the  native  religions  of 
Japan  by  sending  a  missionary  to  look  after  the  re- 
ligious welfare  of  the  colonists. 

When  they  arrived  in  the  Kurile  islands  he,  with 
eight  others,  were  left  on  one  of  them.  When  one 
of  the  Japanese  men-of-war  went  there  later,  they 
found  him  with  the  others  dead,  suflfocated  probably 
by  the  charcoal  fumes  of  their  fire,  about  the  nth 
of  December,  1893.  The  news  of  it  came  to  Japan 
when  the  Synod  of  the  United  Church  of  Japan  was 
holding  its  session,  and  at  once  there  was  weeping 
and  great  sorrow.  But  he  "being  dead  yet  speak- 
e'th,"  like  Abel.  The  sacrifice  of  his  young  life  in 
missionary  work  for  Christ  proved  an  inspiration  to 
the  native  church;  and  gave  to  the  heathen  a  won- 


The  Reformed  Church.  273 

derful  example  of  Christian  bravery  and  testimony. 

A  Girls'  School  was  also  started  by  Miss  Lizzie 
R.  Poorbaugh  and  Miss  Mary  B.  Ault  in  1886. 
The  ground  for  it  was  purchased  by  Rev.  J.  I. 
Swander,  D.D.,  and  wife,  of  Tiffin,  Ohio,  and  a 
school  building  built  upon  it.  The  school  flourished 
and  outgrew  its  quarters  until  in  the  spring  of  1902 
it  was  burned  down.  Both  these  institutions  have 
been  greatly  blessed,  and  have  exerted  a  blessed  in- 
fluence in  northern  Japan. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  missionaries  not  yet 
mentioned,  but  who  have  been  in  connection  with 
the  mission :  Rev.  S.  S.  Snyder,  Rev.  C.  Noss,  Paul 
L.  Gerhard,  Rev.  H.  H.  Cook  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Stick ; 
and  as  teachers  in  the  Girls'  School,  Miss  Emma  F. 
Poorbaugh,  Lena  Zurfluh,  Mary  C.  Hallowell,  L. 
M.  Rohrbaugh,  Sadie  L.  Weidner,  Lucy  M.  Powell 
and  Catharine  B.  Peiffer. 

The  last  report  of  the  mission  for  1902  showed  it 
had  2,142  communicants,  of  whom  335  were  added 
in  1901.  There  are  56  stations  and  outstations,  and 
three  schools  with  269  scholars. 


REV.  DR.  BENJAMIN  SCHNEIDER. 


D.— Mohammedan  Lands. 
Chapter  IX. 

BENJAMIN  C.  SCHNEIDER. 

This  earnest  minister  was  the  pioneer  missionary 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States  to  the 
heathen.  He  was  their  missionary  so  long  ago  that 
we  fear  many  in  the  Church  have  forgotten  him. 
But  he  needs  to  be  remembered  as  the  forerunner 
of  our  Foreign  Mission  work  in  Japan.  Dr.  Schnei- 
der sowed  the  seed  and  interested  the  Church  in  the 
salvation  of  the  heathen ;  and  we  in  our  day  are 
reaping  the  results  in  a  heathen  land  far  distant 
from  the  one  in  which  he  labored.  The  younger 
generation  who  have  come  up  since  his  labors  should 
be  instructed  in  them  so  that  this  honored  mission- 
ary may  receive  the  honor  due  to  him. 

Benjamin  C.  Schneider  was  born  at  New  Haven, 
Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  i8, 
1807.  He  was  the  son  of  an  elder  in  our  Church  in 
Montgomery  county.  His  early  studies  were  at 
Norristown  Academy  at  which  place  he  united  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  attended  Amherst 
College,  graduating  1830,  and  graduated  from  An- 
dover  Theological   Seminary  in    1833.     The   same 

«75 
19 


276  Great  Missionaries  of 

year  he  sailed  for  Turkey  as  a  foreign  missionary. 
At  that  time  most  of  the  denominations  in  America 
did  their  foreign  mission  work  through  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  Our  Church  had 
as  yet  no  Board  of  its  own. 

That  Board  gave  our  Church  a  representative  in 
their  Executive  Committee  by  electing  Rev.  Prof. 
J.  W.  Nevin,  D.D.,  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Mercersburg,  a  member,  and  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Board  for  twenty-five  years, 
1 840- 1 865.  Our  Church  was  therefore  united  with 
that  Board  during  that  time,  and  contributed  during 
these  years  nearly  $28,000  for  his  support.  And  as 
Mr.  Schneider  was  by  birth  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Church,  though  educated  in  the  Presby- 
terian, he  returned  to  her  and  became  a  member  of 
one  of  her  Classes,  the  Maryland  Classis,  with  which 
he  remained  connected  till  his  death  in  1877. 

He  thus  became  the  representative  of  our  Church, 
and  his  work  in  Turkey  was  looked  upon  as  our 
work.  When  he  arrived  in  Turkey,  he  settled  at 
Broosa — famous  for  its  Turkish  silks.  Here  he 
studied  the  Turkish  language  and  revealed  his  fine 
linguistic  abilities.  For  he  was  able  to  speak  in 
three  languages  besides  his  own — Turkish,  German 


The  Reformed  Church.  277 

and  Greek,  as  easily  as  English.  After  he  had  mas- 
tered the  Turkish,  he  preached  the  first  evangelical 
sermon  there  ever  preached  in  that  language.  He 
became  so  proficient  in  it  that  the  Turks  often  won- 
dered at  his  marvelous  flow  of  thought  expressed 
in  their  peculiar  idioms  and  phrases.  We  are  sure 
that  in  his  preaching  at  Broosa  he  offered  them  a 
robe  more  precious  than  all  Oriental  silks,  the  robe 
of  Christ's  righteousness. 

But  his  main  field  of  operations  was  at  Aintab, 
whither  he  removed  in  1849,  ^"<^  remained  for  about 
twenty  years.  There  like  the  Apostle  Paul,  he  was 
more  abundant  in  labors.  The  work  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  there  was  among  the  Armenian  Chris- 
tians, whose  service  is  very  much  like  that  of  the 
Romish  Church.  They  had  been  unaccustomed  to 
hearing  the  gospel  in  their  own  language.  The  ori- 
gin of  this  church  at  Aintab  is  quite  interesting. 
First,  some  copies  of  the  New  Testament  happened 
to  be  sold  there.  A  few  of  the  people  who  were  able 
to  read,  bought  them.  By  and  by  a  company  of 
Scripture-readers  was  formed,  who  asked  for  fur- 
ther instruction,  and  missionaries  and  colporteurs 
began  to  visit  the  town.  There  was  great  opposi- 
tion  at  first,   and  in    1847,   two  years   before  Dr. 


278  Great  Missionaries  of 

Schneider  went  there,  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnston  was  or- 
dered to  leave,  and  was  stoned  when  he  left.  His 
meekness  under  such  an  insult,  so  impressed  one  of 
the  young  men  who  helped  in  the  stoning,  that  he 
soon  became  a  convert,  and  has  been  for  many  years 
a  deacon  in  the  church.  Then  cholera  came  with  its 
awful  ravages,  and  a  skilful  Protestant  physician 
went  there,  Dr.  Azariah  Smith.  He  organized  a 
church  of  eight  members,  in  January,  1848.  To  this 
charge  Dr.  Schneider  came  in  1849.  He  had  spent 
the  previous  summer  there,  and  the  following  spring 
he  brought  his  family  there  to  remain  permanently. 
He  laid  the  foundations  of  two  large  and  influential 
churches,  which  have  since  increased  into  a  third. 
He  greatly  loved  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  the  ef- 
fect of  his  preaching  was  great.  A  native  physician 
who  was  converted  through  his  instrumentality, 
says :  "The  Holy  Spirit  seemed  always  to  be  present 
when  Dr.  Schneider  was  preaching.  I  still  remem- 
ber distinctly,  sermons  preached  by  him  thirty  years 
ago — not  the  text  only,  but  the  heads  and  the  illus- 
trations, and  the  fervent  appeals  which  were  irre- 
sistible." He  would  often  walk  the  floor  after 
preaching  to  those  large  audiences  in  Aintab,  in  an 
ecstasy  of  delight,  saying:  "I  would  rather  preach 


The  Reformed  Church.  279 

the  gospel  to  this  people,  than  be  a  king  on  any 
throne."  His  works  remain  behind  him.  Three  of 
the  professors  in  the  college  at  Aintab,  are  sons  of 
his  first  converts.  A  wealthy  merchant  who  has  just 
erected  a  splendid  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building,  was  his 
pupil,  one  of  his  first  converts.  We  feel  like  giving 
part  of  a  letter  written  to  Mrs.  Schneider,  by  one 
who  knew  and  loved  him  at  Aintab.  It  reads  thus : 
"Our  third  congregation  at  Aintab  has  outgrown  its 
accommodations,  and  a  few  days  since  I  went  with 
those  who  have  the  work  in  charge  to  see  the  larger 
rooms  they  propose  to  rent  for  a  chapel.  My  heart 
was  full,  for  these  were  the  rooms  occupied  for  so 
many  years  by  Rev.  Dr.  Schneider  and  his  goodly 
wife,  whose  grave  is  among  the  people  she  loved. 
We  looked  into  the  good  man's  study — into  the  sit- 
ting room  and  the  bed  rooms;  discussed  removing 
this  and  that  wall,  so  as  to  accommodate  three  hun- 
dred people — my  thoughts  meanwhile  dwelling  on 
those  early  days,  when  these  very  walls  witnessed 
the  prayers  and  the  tears  of  that  devoted  missionary 
and  his  wife,  as  they  sowed  the  seed  that  has  borne, 
so  rich  a  harvest.  Returning  home,  we  found  our 
weekly  mail  with  the  tidings  that  this  servant  of 
God  h^d  passed  to  his  rest — his  reward.    The  first 


28o  Great  Missionaries  of 

emotion  that  swept  over  me,  was  of  joyful  congrat- 
ulation for  him,  the  second  of  deep  and  tearful  grat- 
itude that  God  gave  me  such  a  friend  and  father, 
when  He  called  me  to  this  blessed  work  many  years 
ago.  Battel  Bey  (a  very  wicked  Turkish  governor) 
told  his  physician  that  his  friend,  Schneider,  was  a 
wonderfully  holy  man — so  holy,  that  if  he  would 
accept  the  prophet  (Mohammed)  he  would  be  re- 
ceived to  heaven  without  passing  the  judgment,  and 
with  no  questions  asked — that  few,  very  few,  are 
found  who  work  with  such  simplicity  and  singleness 
of  purpose,  as  he  did.  For  this  reason  he  had  great 
influence  over  those  men  who  were  considered  hard 
to  approach,  and  that,  also  in  regard  to  those  sub- 
jects in  which  they  are  least  approachable,  as  per- 
sonal religion,  and  liberality  of  giving  for  the  cause 
of  Christ.  When  he  was  preaching  in  a  temporary 
chapel,  soon  after  his  coming  to  Aintab,  four  young 
men,  gay  and  irreligious,  went  to  hear  what  this 
'setter  forth  of  strange  doctrines'  had  to  say.  Not 
wishing  to  attract  notice,  they  went  up  to  the  flat 
earthen  roof,  and  sat  down  beside  a  large  hole  which 
had  been  opened  for  ventilation,  where  they  could 
look  down  upon  the  preacher,  and  hear  his  words 
very  distinctly,  being  themselves,  as  they  thought, 


The  Reformed  Church.  281 

secure  from  observation.  After  the  opening  exer- 
cises. Dr.  Schneider  arose,  adjusted  his  spectacles, 
gave  the  group  on  the  roof  one  full  look,  and  an- 
nounced his  text,  John  15:5  and  6,  'I  am  the  vine, 
ye  are  the  branches,'  etc.  You  know  the  spirit  that 
always  seemed  to  be  speaking  through  Dr.  Schnei- 
der. Our  attention  was  riveted,  and  ever  and  anon, 
the  preacher  would  fix  his  eyes  upon  us,  and  ask 
some  pointed  question,  so  that  we  trembled  and  wept 
as  we  sat  there,  and  afterwards  went  home  together 
for  a  season  of  prayer  for  mercy,  for  we  felt  we 
were  indeed  only  withered  branches  fit  to  be  burned. 
All  four  of  these  young  men  soon  became  Chris- 
tians, and  continue  steadfast.  One  is  an  evangelist, 
one,  the  narrator,  is  a  deacon  of  the  church,  and  a 
prominent  physician.  He  is  still  able  to  report  with 
minuteness,  many  of  the  sermons  which  he  heard 
thirty  years  ago." 

The  recent  kidnapping  of  Miss  Stone  in  Bulgaria 
reminds  us  of  a  similar  scene  in  the  life  of  Dr. 
Schneider,  in  November,  1853.  His  wife  graphical- 
ly tells  the  story  in  a  letter  to  one  of  her  daughters 
in  this  country.    She  says : 

"I  was  expecting  your  father  home  this  afternoon, 
as  he  had  important  reasons  for  wishing  to  get  home 


282  Great  Missionaries  of 

as  rapidly  as  possible.  Dinner  was  waiting  till 
nearly  night,  yet  he  did  not  come,  when  a  messen- 
ger arrived,  bringing  the  news  of  their  having  fallen 
in  with  robbers.  They  had  nearly  reached  the  place 
where  they  were  to  spend  the  night,  when  three  men 
who  had  been  walking  either  before  or  behind  for 
nearly  two  hours,  and  armed  with  swords,  pistols, 
habergeons  and  clubs,  rushed  out  from  among  the 
bushes,  each  one  grasping  a  bridle  of  the  three 
mules — that  is  of  father,  of  the  native  brother,  and 
of  the  guide.  Mrs.  Pratt,  seeing  the  blows  they  in- 
flicted and  fearing  they  would  be  murdered,  whip- 
ped up  her  horse  and  tried  to  flee.  They  struck 
poor  father  many  times  violently,  pulled  him  off  of 
his  horse,  threw  him  on  the  ground,  took  his  money, 
his  watch,  his  fez,  and  thought  of  taking  his  fur- 
garment  and  horse ;  but  fearing  they  would  be  de- 
tected by  the  last  named,  left  them.  They  threat- 
ened him  several  times  with  instant  death.  He  re- 
ceived a  blow  upon  his  head,  and  a  profusion  of 
blood  was  the  consequence.  His  arm  also  received  a 
blow ;  his  side  a  kick,  which  caused  him  much  pain. 
At  the  time  one  villain  stood  over  him  with  a  drawn 
sword  saying,  'I  will  kill  you  this  instant.'  Mrs. 
Pratt  was  brought  back  by  one  of  them  who  ran 


The  Reformed  Church.  283 

after  her.  She  supposed  she  was  to  be  murdered, 
as  she  supposed  the  others  had  been,  for  the  native 
brother  was  thrown,  bound  and  blinded,  upon  the 
ground  and  father,  too,  was  in  the  same  condition, 
with  a  garment  thrown  over  him.  On  Mrs.  Pratt's 
arrival  he  moved  one  of  his  limbs,  and  because  of 
this,  as  if  intending  to  rise  and  deliver  himself,  one 
of  the  villains  rushed  upon  him  with  a  drawn  sword 
threatening  him  with  instant  death  if  he  spoke  a 
word.  Poor  Mrs.  Pratt,  who  had  displayed  such 
fortitude,  seeing  him  about  to  inflict  a  deadly 
wound,  raised  both  her  hands  towards  heaven  and 
cried,  'Oh  dear,  oh  dear,  he  is  a  missionary,'  as  if 
such  a  fact  would  restrain  him.  She,  too,  was  rob- 
bed of  all  the  money  she  had  with  her,  about  $20. 
They  escaped  and  came  back  tonight,  in  the  most 
painful  condition.  I  have  dressed  father's  wounds, 
which,  though  not  deadly,  give  him  most  excruciat- 
ing pain.    He  speaks  only  of  God's  mercy." 

Dr.  Schneider  adds  that  when  the  robber  had 
raised  his  hand  to  kill  him,  that  he  thought  his  last 
hour  had  come,  and  expected  every  moment  to  feel 
the  deadly  weapon  on  some  part  of  his  body. 
Nothing  but  an  Almighty  arm  restrained  the  ruffian. 
He  says  that  they  were  kept  in  that  condition  about 


284  Great  Missionaries  of 

three  quarters  of  an  hour,  when  the  robbers,  having 
rifled  everything  in  their  baggage,  as  well  as  on 
themselves,  fled.  He  said,  that  up  to  that  time,  that 
part  of  the  road  had  not  been  considered  dangerous, 
or  they  would  have  taken  guards. 

Turkey  does  not  seem  to  have  improved  much  in 
fifty  years  as  far  as  safety  is  concerned.  But  such 
events  impress  upon  us  the  great  importance  of 
prayer  for  our  missionaries  far  away  in  heathen 
lands,  that  their  lives  and  health  may  be  spared. 

In  1856,  after  his  first  wife  died  (who  had  been  a 
Miss  Eliza  C.  Abbott,  of  Framingham,  Mass.),  he 
returned  to  this  country,  and  spent  about  two  years 
here.  Part  of  his  time  was  spent  in  visiting  the  Re- 
formed churches,  and  stirring  them  up  to  greater 
interest  and  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  the  heathen. 
Everywhere  he  carried  the  missionary  spirit  into  the 
churches  and  the  homes.  One  of  the  clearest  boyish 
recollections  of  the  writer  was  when  Dr.  Schneider 
visited  the  home  of  his  father,  and  laid  his  hand  on 
his  head  (he  was  about  seven  years  of  age)  and 
asked  him  whether  he  would  become  a  missionary, 
and  he  promised.  Thus  Dr.  Schneider  labored 
everywhere  for  missions,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
Before  he  returned  to  Turkey  he  married  the  sister 


The  Reformed  Church.  285 

of  his  first  wife,  Miss  Susan  M.  Abbott  (who  sur- 
vived his  death  and  lived  after  it  at  Boston,  Mass.). 
At  Aintab,  his  work  in  the  girls'  school,  was  a  pow- 
erful agency  for  good.  One  hundred  and  sixty  girls 
have  graduated  there,  and  as  teachers,  Bible  women 
and  heads  of  families,  exert  a  wide  influence  for 
Christianity.  We  can  only  properly  measure  the 
greatness  of  this  work,  when  it  is  remembered  that 
when  he  went  to  Aintab,  there  was  only  one  woman 
who  could  read. 

In  1868,  he  left  Aintab,  to  live  at  Broosa,  and  in 
1872,  he  returned  to  the  United  States  in  feeble 
health.  But  although  in  America,  his  heart  was  in 
Turkey,  and  although  not  vigorous  in  body,  he  re- 
turned in  1874  to  Turkey  in  order  to  meet  a  call  for 
a  professor  of  Turkish  and  Greek  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Marsovan,  where  he  arrived  March, 
1874.  One  of  his  fellow  teachers  there  said  of  him : 
"I  had  never  seen  him  before,  but  he  made  the  sam# 
impression  on  me,  that  I  suppose  he  made  on  every 
one — first,  last  and  ahvays — that  of  a  man,  good, 
kind,  wise — a  man  who  had  seen  work,  and  was 
ready  for  more.  He  was  venerable  in  appearance,  a 
special  requisite  in  the  East.     And  while  the  great 


286  Great  Missionaries  of 

congregations  sat  on  the  floor  with  face  upturned 
toward  the  desk, 

How  sweetly  flowed  the  gospel  sound 
From  lips  of  gentleness  and  grace. 

But  Dr.  Schneider  was  then  beginning  to  fail  in 
health.  There  was  one  year  more  of  soldiering  for 
him  to  do  in  Turkish  soil."  In  the  summer  of  1875, 
he  was  compelled  by  nervous  prostration,  to  leave 
Turkey,  and  go  to  Switzerland,  and  finally,  to  re- 
turn to  America,  where  he  died  on  September  14, 

1877. 

He  was  a  man  of  prayer.  "His  prayers,"  said  his 
associate.  Rev.  Dr.  Crane,  "breathed  the  spirit  of  one 
accustomed  to  commune  with  God.  Those  prayers 
that  he  used  to  utter  in  that  booth-like  structure 
where  hundreds  gathered  in  the  early  days  of  his 
missionary  labors  at  Aintab,  still  ring  in  the  ear  of 
memory — so  urgent,  so  comprehensive,  so  full  of 
trust  in  the  promises,  and  so  sympathetic  in  their  tone 
to  all.  The  same  was  true  of  his  private  devotions. 
He  had  his  times  of  prayer  and  they  were  sacred. 
If  by  any  means  they  were  broken  in  upon,  he  would 
at  his  earliest  opportunity  return  to  them  even 
though  he  was  on  horseback  or  in  his  walks.  Often 
in  his  travels  the  time  he  rode  was  spent  in  prayer. 


The  Reformed  Church.  287 

Few  missionaries  in  any  field  have  been  permitted 
to  labor  longer,  and  few  have  left  behind  them, 
among  those  for  whose  spiritual  welfare  they  have 
toiled  and  labored,  more  of  grateful  remembrance, 
than  he.  For  more  than  forty  years  he  was  privi- 
leged to  be  connected  with  the  work  so  dear  to  his 
heart,  laboring  in  season  and  out  of  season,  in  every 
department  of  missionary  service ;  in  preaching, 
which  was  his  delight ;  and  in  teaching  young  men, 
and  preparing  them  for  the  ministry  in  their  own 
land.  Few  have  traveled  more  extensively  than  he 
as  pioneer ;  few  have  labored  in  more  places  in  Tur- 
key ;  few  certainly  have  been  more  willing  to  spend 
and  be  spent  wherever  they  could  serve  their  Master 
most  acceptably ;  few  have  more  cheerfully  endured 
privations  of  the  service,  than  Dr.  Schneider.  Wher- 
ever, at  home  or  abroad,  he  was  personally  known, 
he  was  revered ;  and  as  long  as  the  missions  of  the 
American  Board  in  the  Turkish  Empire  are  cher- 
ished by  American  churches,  so  long  will  the  name 
of  Benjamin  Schneider  be  honored  as  one  of  the 
earliest  and  most  devoted  missionaries.  President 
Fuller,  of  the  Aintab  College,  thus  bears  testimony 
to  him :  "His  forty  years  of  labor  in  the  Turkish 
Empire,   whether  we   consider   the   faith,  courage, 


288  Great  Missionaries  of 

wisdom  and  heroic  endurance  displayed,  or  the 
grand  results  attained  in  the  establishment  of  a  new 
order  of  faith  and  living,  are  of  monumental  im- 
portance. The  Protestant  churches  of  Turkey,  and 
especially  those  of  the  Central  Turkey  Mission, 
where  so  large  a  part  of  his  missionary  life  was 
spent,  have  a  deep  and  filial  love  for  the  memory  of 
the  man  who  so  zealously  taught,  and  wisely  led 
them  in  the  days  of  their  early  trials." 


Chapter  X. 

SAMUEL  M.  ZWEMER. 

Arabia,  too,  has  been  receiving  the  gospel  at  the 
hands  of  the  Reformed, — Arabia  which  gave  the  law 
of  Moses  and  the  prophet  Mohammed  to  the  world, 
has  now  heard  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Dvitch  Reformed 
Church  at  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  had  as  one 
of  its  professors  in  the  eighth  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  Rev.  John  G.  Lansing,  a  son  of  the 
honored  r^issionary  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Egypt,  Rev.  Julian  Lansing,  D.D.  The 
latter  had  been  praying  for  many  years  for  Arabia, 
and  his  enthusiasm  for  the  regeneration  of  that  land 
by  the  gospel  finally  brought  forth  its  fruit  in  his 
son.  Throuo^h  the  influence  of  the  latter,  three 
students  of  that  Theological  school  decided  to  go  to 
Arabia,  Samuel  M.  Zwemer,  James  Cantine  and 
Philip  T.  Phelps. 

They  made  application  to  the  Board  of  Foreign 

Missions   of   the   Reformed   Dutch   Church    under 

whose  auspices  they  had  been  educated.     But  that 

Board  felt  itself  at  the  time  too  heavily  burdened  by 

a  debt  of  $35,000  to  enter  on  work  in  a  new  field  of 

389 


290  Great  Missionaries  of 

missions.  However  the  attention  of  that  church  had 
been  called  to  this  movement  and  contributions  be- 
gan to  come  in.  The  young  men,  too,  determined 
to  go,  without  the  support  of  their  Foreign  Board, 
relying  on  private  subscriptions  and  prayer.  An 
undenominational  missionary  society  was  organized 
"^August  I,  1889. 

A  few  days  later  Dr.  Lansing  composed  the  Ara- 
bian Mission  hymn  which  has  been  a  great  inspira- 
tion to  these  workers  in  Arabia. 

"There  is  a  land  long  since  neglected, 
There  is  a  people  still  rejected, 
But  of  truth  and  grace  elected, 
In  his  love  for  them. 

Softer  than  their  night  winds  fleeting. 
Richer  than  their  starry  tenting. 
Stronger  than  their  sands  protecting, 
Is  his  love  for  them. 

To  the  host  of  Islam  leading. 
To  the  slave  in  bondage  bleeding. 
To   the   desert-dweller   pleading, 
Bring  his  love  to  them. 

Through  the  promise  on  God's  pages. 
Through  his  work  in  history's  stages. 
Through    the   cross   that   crowns   the   ages. 
Show  his  love  to  them. 

With  the  prayer  that  still  availeth. 
With  the  power  that  prevaileth. 
With  the  love  that  never  faileth. 
Tell  his  love  to  them. 

Till  the  desert  sons  now  aliens. 
Till  its  tribes  and  their  dominions, 
Till  Arabia's  raptured  millions, 
Praise  this  love  of  them. 


The  Reformed  Church.  291 

Rev.  James  Cantine  sailed  October  16,  i809,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Zwemer  on  June  18,  1890.  They  met  at 
Aden,  Mr.  Cantine  going  to  Muscat,  to  the  Persian 
gulf  and  Bagdad,  while  Mr.  Zwemer  went  south 
along  the  coast,  accompanied  by  Kamil,  and  landed 
at  Busrah. 

The  story  of  Kamil  is  of  fascinating  interest  and 

reveals  a  life  entirely  surrendered  to  Christ,  even  to 

death.     On  the  morning  of  February   10,   1890,  a 

young  Syrian  called  on  Rev.  Dr.  Jessup,  the  well 

known  Presbyterian  missionary  at  Beirout.  He  told 

the  story  that  he  had  met  a  Maronite  priest  near 

Beirout  who  advised  him  to  go  to  the  Jesuit  college, 

which  he  did.     One  of  them  gave  him  an  Arabic 

Testament.     But  his  father  caught  him  reading  it 

and  burned  it  in  the  kitchen  fire.    The  next  day  one 

of  the  Jesuits  gave  him  another   New  Testament 

and  suggested  he  adopt  a  false  subterfuge  to  his 

father  so  as  to  be  able  to  retain  it, — that  he  tell  his 

father  that  he  had  bought  it  in  order  to  write  a  tract 

against  it,  which  was  a  clear  untruth.     It  was  the 

old  Jesuit  policy  that  the  end  justifies  the  means, 

however  wicked  the  latter  might  be.     But  the  mind 

of  the  pure-minded   Syrian   revolted  against  such 

sinful  trickery  and  replied :  "What !  advise  me  to  lie 
20 


292  Great  Missionaries  of 

to  my  father !  Never !"  He  laid  down  his  book  and 
came  away.  The  Jesuits  had  proposed  to  send  him 
to  Alexandria,  Egypt,  for  education,  but  his  family 
protested. 

So  he  left  the  Jesuits  disgusted,  after  being  with 
them  a  month,  and  came  to  Dr.  Jessup,  saying:  "I 
am  not  at  rest,  I  find  nothing  in  the  Koran  to  show 
one  how  God  can  be  just  and  yet  pardon  a  sinner." 
Dr.  Jessup  allowed  him  to  come  and  read  the  Bible 
at  his  house.  He  seemed  instinctively  to  learn  the 
way  to  Christ,  so  quickly  he  grasped  it  and  was  soon 
rejoicing  in  the  felt  forgiveness  of  his  sins.  He 
proved  to  be  a  true  Nathaniel  without  guile.  He 
entered  the  mission  school  at  Suk  in  Syria  to  prepare 
himself  for  work  among  the  Arabs.  Being  afraid 
for  his  life  if  he  returned  to  Beirout,  he  spent  the 
summer  of  1890  in  evangelistic  work  among  the  Be- 
douin. After  having  been  a  Christian  only  seven 
months  he  was  found  trying  to  convert  no  less  a  man 
than  the  Greek  bishop,  who  so  admired  his  abilities 
and  zeal  that  he  offered  him  a  fine  position.  After 
this  Kamil  was  baptized  January  15,  1891. 

It  happened  that  Messrs.  Cantine  and  Zwemer,  of 
the  new  Arabian  Mission,  were  spending  some  time 
at  Beirout  when  his  baptism  took  place.     They  re- 


The  Reformed  Church.  293 

quested  the  services  of  Kamil,  which  was  the  more 
willingly  granted  because,  as  he  was  a  convert  from 
Mohammedanism,  his  life  was  to  some  extent  al- 
ways in  jeopardy  in  that  region.  He  arrived  at 
Aden  February  7,  1891.  He  at  once  set  to  work 
among  the  Mohammedan  merchant  caravans  that 
passed  through  Aden.  His  knowledge  of  Moham- 
medanism enabled  him  to  interest  and  answer  his 
listeners.  He  was  so  successful  that  he  frequently 
had  fifty  to  one  hundred  seated  around  him  listening 
to  the  Bible. 

He  then  accompanied  Mr.  Zwemer  along  the 
coast  of  the  Red  Sea  southward.  At  Mejada  they 
ran  their  boat  ashore  owing  to  the  storm.  When 
they  had  drawn  the  boat  up  on  the  beech  and  were 
preparing  some  food,  an  armed  Bedouin  came  up 
with  a  long  spear  and  warned  them  against  being 
robbed  or  killed.  They  said  they  feared  nothing  as 
God  was  with  them.  But  in  five  minutes  another 
Bedouin  rode  up  and  demanded  coffee  and  finally 
money,  which  was  refused.  Then  a  crowd  of  Be- 
douin women  and  children  came  down  upon  them. 
It  was  difficult  to  protect  their  goods.  Sometimes  a 
child  seized  one  thing  and  a  woman  another  and  four 
or 'five  at  once  reached  out  their  hands.    They  seized 


294  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  boat  and  refused  to  let  them  launch  again.  The 
missionaries  then  demanded  their  help  and  all  laid 
hold  and  drew  the  boat  to  the  water.  Mr.  Zwemer 
then  went  up  to  the  chief  robber  and  cut  off  a  little 
bead  hanging  from  his  neck  as  a  keepsake.  The 
latter  never  uttered  a  word.  He  then  gave  him  a 
cup  as  a  keepsake,  and  gave  them  all  medicine  for 
their  ailments.  The  missionaries  then  took  their 
spears  and  stuck  their  shafts  into  the  ground.  He 
then  offered  prayer,  praying  for  half  an  hour  and 
exhorted  them,  closing  the  prayer  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  to  which  all  the  company  responded  "Amen! 
and  Amen !"  And  they  exclaimed :  "Never  in  all  our 
lives  will  we  cut  off  the  roads,  rob  them  on  the  high- 
way again,  or  speak  harshly  to  a  stranger."  And  on 
parting  they  said :  "Go  in  peace." 

Kamil  continued  preaching  to  the  sailors  of  boats 
at  Aden  and  in  the  bazaars  there.  He  wrote  ear- 
nestly to  his  father,  trying  to  open  his  eyes  to  the 
truth  in  Christ.  The  father  replied  and  the  corres- 
pondence resulted  in  a  bitter  controversy.  Kamil 
also  itinerated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mecca,  the 
centre  of  Mohammedanism  of  the  world.  He  went 
from  Aden  to  Busrah  in  January,  1892,  with  the 
mission.     His  last  letter  is  dated  April  22,  1892, 


The  Reformed  Church.  295 

where  he  says  Mr.  Zwemer  had  urged  him  to  go 
boldly  into  the  Mohammedan  coffeehouses  and 
preach  Christ,  but  he  felt  it  would  be  unwise  as 
there  was  no  religious  liberty  there  as  at  Aden 
where  they  were  under  the  British  flag. 

But  he  busied  himself,  although  sick,  with  per- 
sonal conversations  and  with  Bible  distribution. 
On  May  22  he  had  visits  from  twenty-three  Moham- 
medans, five  Christians  and  one  Jew,  and  sold  two 

/Bibles.     He  died  suddenly  June  24,  1892,  probably 
>J  <  of  poisoning.    The  Mohammedans  sealed  the  house 

/  where  he  stayed,  thus  preventing  any  investigations. 
They  buried  him  with  Mohammedan  burial  in  spite 
of  the  protests  of  Mr.  Zwemer  that  he  was  a  Chris- 
tian, which  made  it  suspicious  that  they  had  led  to 
his  poisoning;  for  his  rapid  burial  was  contrary  to 
their  long  drawn  out  rites  of  burial.    Even  the  place 

js,  of  his  burial  was  sealed.     So  died  a  bright  spirit 

1  after  a  two  years'  ministry  for  Christ.  But  we  doubt 
not  that  the  results  of  his  ministry  will  remain.  If 
Henry  Martyn's  brief  stay  in  Persia  nearly  a  hun- 
dred years  before,  led  to  results  which  appeared  a 
half  century  later,  we  believe  Kamil's  testimony  will 
yet  reveal  similar  results. 

But  difficulties  arose  to  the  mission.     Besides  the 


296  Great  Missionaries  of 

poisoning  of  Kamil,  another  of  the  converts  was  ar- 
rested. The  money  received  by  the  Home  Commit- 
tee lessened  on  account  of  the  illness  of  Rev.  Prof. 
Lansing,  at  New  Brunswick,  who  had  been  the  god- 
father of  the  mission.  Cholera  came  and  interfered 
with  their  work  in  Arabia.  Still  there  was  also  en- 
couragement ;  for  new  missionaries  were  sent  out,  as 
-^Peter  J.  Zwemer  and  James  T.  Wycoff,  M.  D.,  but 
the  latter,  though  the  third  of  the  medical  mission- 
aries sent  out,  was  soon  compelled  to  return  by  ill 
health. 

Still  results  began  to  show  themselves  although 
the  field  was  very  hard.  After  laboring  from  1892- 
99,  during  which  time  their  Scriptures  sales  arose 
from  1,620  in  1892  to  2,464  in  1899,  they  at  last 
gained  their  first  convert.  A  soldier  at  Amara  ac- 
cepted Christ  and  came  to  Busrah  for  instruction. 
He  had  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  but  witnessed 
a  good  confession  wherever  he  had  been  dragged 
as  an  exile  or  driven  as  an  apostate.  Another  con- 
vert was  a  middle-aged  Persian,  who  was  deeply 
convicted  of  sin  by  reading  a  copy  of  Luke's  gospel 
in  the  dispensary  at  Busrah. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  feature  of  their  work 
was    the    school    opened   at    Muscat   by    Peter    J. 


The  Reformed  Church.  297 

Zwemer  for  eighteen  orphan  slave  boys  who  had 
been  rescued  from  slavery  in  Africa  and  were 
handed  over  to  the  mission.  The  medical  work  also 
began  to  tell,  as  among  the  Mohammedans  there  are 
no  doctors.  Mr.  Peter  J.  Zwemer  died  October  18, 
1898,  after  heroically  fighting  with  repeated  attacks 
of  fever  there,  until  driven  home  to  die.  But  in 
dying  his  heart  was  still  in  Arabia,  for  his  last  letter 
to  his  parents  said  he  had  just  secured  $100  for  a 
Muscat  touring  boat.  Thus  the  Lord  has  already 
blessed  this  new  mission  with  martyrs.  They  will 
be  the  seed  of  the  Arabian  Church,  the  forerunners 
of  many  saved. 

Mr.  Samuel  M.  Zwemer  is  still  laboring  for  the 
salvation  of  Arabia  and  greatly  instructing  and  in- 
fluencing the  churches  at  home  by  his  books  "Ara- 
bia" and  "Raymund  Lull,"  who  was  the  first  great 
missionary  to  the  Mohammedans,  preaching  to  them 
during  the  Middle  Ages. 


iy 


BOOK   IV. 


THE  REFORMED  IN  THE  EAST  INDIES 
Chapter  I. 

JAN   KAM,   THE  APOSTLE  OF  THE 
MOLUCCAS. 

HE  East  Indies  had  Protestant  missions 
early.  The  Dutch  East  India  Society  sent 
the  gospel  to  these  heathen  lands  very 
early,  so  that  by  1772,  it  is  said,  there  were  100,000 
converts  on  the  island  of  Java,  and  by  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  40,000  in  Amboyna.  But 
the  work  was  very  superficially  done,  and  many  of 
the  converts  secretly  clung  to  their  old  heathenish 
superstitions  and  were  only  Christians  in  name.  It 
was  left  for  this  century  to  really  begin  the  mission 
work  of  the  East  Indies  on  a  new  basis  and  with  a 
true  missionary  method,  so  that  it  is  now  done  more 
thoroughly.  It  was  the  subject  of  this  sketch  who 
gave  the  great  impulse  to  this  forward  movement, 
especially  on  the  Molucca  or  Spice  Islands.  This 
group  of  islands  is  named  thus  because  of  its  beau- 
tiful nutmeg  tree  with  its  deep  green,  glossy  leaves 
and  evergreen  aromatic  flower  buds  called  cloves. 

The  Molucca  Islands  were  first  captured  by  the 
Portuguese,  but  taken  from  them  by  the  Dutch  in 

301 


302  Great  Missionaries  of 

1580.  The  Dutch  cruelly  oppressed  the  people,  or- 
dering all  the  spice  trees  to  be  cut  down  on  all  the 
islands,  except  Amboyna. 

The  first  attempt  in  the  nineteenth  century  to  re- 
vive the  mission  work  in  Amboyna  was  by  Jabez 
Carey,  a  son  of  William  Carey,  the  great  missionary 
to  India.  Amboyna  was  captured  from  the  Dutch 
by  the  English.  William  Carey  issued  an  appeal 
for  the  island,  which  for  ten  years  had  had  no  mis- 
sionary, although  twenty  thousand  of  its  forty-five 
thousand  inhabitants  were  already  nominal  Chris- 
tians. And  the  first  one  to  respond  to  this  call  was 
his  own  son.  This  son  had  been  a  source  of  special 
anxiety  to  his  father.  The  remarkable  story  is  told 
that  at  an  annual  meeting  in  London  the  Baptist 
minister,  Dr.  Ryland,  preached  in  the  Dutch  church. 
He  praised  the  good  fortune  of  William  Carey,  who 
had  two  sons  in  the  missionary  field.  "But,"  he  con- 
tinued, "there  is  a  third  son  who  gives  him  great 
concern  in  that  he  has  not  yet  found  the  Lord." 
Then,  after  a  long  pause,  during  which  many  tears 
came  to  his  eyes,  he  lifted  his  voice,  saying :  "Breth- 
ren, let  us  send  up  to  God  a  united  and  earnest 
prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the  third  son,  Jabez." 
For  two  minutes  the  great  assembly  of  two  thous- 


The  Reformed  Church.  303 

and  persons,  was  in  silent  prayer.  In  one  of  the  first 
letters  received  by  them,  Jabez's  conversion  was  an- 
nounced at  almost  the  very  time  when  the  great  as- 
sembly was  praying-  for  him.  He  then  went  to  Am- 
boyna  in  18 14.  He  wrote  that  there  were  many  vil- 
lages nominally  Christian,  each  village  having  its 
church  with  a  school  and  schoolmaster,  and  a  place 
for  a  minister.  He  found  on  closer  examination 
that  the  churches  were  largely  attended.  He  tried 
to  improve  the  schools  and  get  the  natives  to  give 
up  idolatry.  Carey's  activity  gave  hope  of  great 
results.  But  when  the  islands  were  given  back  to 
Holland  in  18 15,  he  was  compelled  to  leave,  as  the 
Dutch  government  would  not  allow  any  foreign  mis- 
sionary of  another  nation  there. 

In  his  place,  however,  came  a  man  who  possessed 
all  his  spirit — yes,  the  missionary  spirit  of  his  great- 
er father,  William  Carey — Jan  Kam.  For  the  Neth- 
erlands Missionary  Society  which  had  been  organ- 
ized in  Holland,  after  doing  some  work  in  South  Af- 
rica, now  listened  to  the  calls  from  the  Dutch  pro- 
vinces in  the  East  Indies  and  sent  a  number  of  ex- 
cellent missionaries.  Among  these  was  the  pious 
and  devoted  Jan  Kam.  He  was  born  at  Herzogen- 
bosch  in  1770.    His  love  for  missions  was  awakened 


304  Great  Missionaries  of 

by  his  contact  with  the  pious  Moravians  at  Zeist. 
In  1811  he  gave  up  his  position  as  court  messenger 
of  justice,  so  as  to  go  to  Rotterdam  and  prepare 
himself  to  become  a  missionary.  His  preparation  as 
a  missionary  was  made  partly  at  Rotterdam,  partly 
at  Zeist.  He  was  sent  out  by  the  London  Missionary 
Society  in  181 2,  arriving  at  Surabeya  May,  1814, 
where  he  spent  seven  months.  Later  he  became  a 
Dutch  chaplain  at  Amboyna. 

When  he  arrived  at  Amboyna  (1815),  he  was 
gladly  received,  and  preached  his  first  sermon 
(March  5th)  on  John  17:3,  "And  this  is  life  eternal, 
that  they  might  know  thee,  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent."  He  came  truly 
to  bring  eternal  life  to  many  on  these  islands.  Al- 
though the  regularly  appointed  Dutch  minister  at 
Amboyna,  his  heart  was  in  missionary  work.  When 
he  preached  in  Dutch,  his  congregation  numbered 
one  thousand,  and  when  he  preached  in  Malay,  it 
numbered  six  hundred.  His  congregations  soon 
doubled.  But  his  heart  went  out  for  the  heathen 
around,  and  especially  for  the  natives,  who  had  been 
nominally  converted  to  Christianity,  and  who  were 
scattered  as  sheep  that  have  no  shepherd.  He  fouhxi 
them  very  low'  In  piety.     Their  condition  can  be 


The  Reformed  Church.  305 

inferred  when  we  remember  that  a  Bible  was  so  rare 
that  one  sold  for  forty-eight  dollars.  So  sad  was 
their  condition  that  he  said  there  are  thousands  here 
who  would  g^ve  all  their  property  for  a  Malay  Bible. 

Kam  also  began  devotional  meetings  in  his  house 
(which  held  from  three  to  four  hundred  persons), 
so  as  to  prepare  them  for  the  communion.  He  then 
traveled  everywhere,  baptizing  the  people,  who  had 
so  long  been  without  a  minister.  He  says  that  from 
March  to  May  he  baptized  three  thousand  children 
of  ten  years  old  and  under,  because  there  had  been 
no  Dutch  minister  to  do  this  for  so  many  years,  and 
the  children  had  grown  up  without  baptism,  al- 
though waiting  to  be  baptized.  He  began  devotion- 
al meetings  in  twenty-seven  villages  for  the  heathen, 
which  were  largely  attended. 

His  services  were  soon  interrupted  by  an  earth- 
quake. One  Sunday  morning  in  April,  at  five  a.  m., 
there  was  a  very  severe  earthquake.  "My  house," 
he  says,  "was  so  shaken  that  my  books  were  thrown 
on  the  floor  from  their  case.  Many  people  fled  with 
nothing  but  their  night  garments,  out  into  the  open 
fields  for  safety.  This  shock  was  soon  followed  by 
a  second.  This  continued  untn  the  island  was 
shaken  for  six  days.     Twice  during  church  service 


3o6  Great  Missionaries  of 

was  the  church  shaken,  and  this  caused  not  a  little 
alarm  among  the  congregation.  But  I  took  my 
refuge  in  prayer  to  God,  and  speaking  on  Psalm  46, 
'God  is  our  refuge,'  etc.,  I  improved  the  occasion  by 
reminding  them  of  the  vanity  of  riches  and  the  un- 
certainty of  life."  Before  the  end  of  the  month  he 
learned  that  in  some  of  the  other  islands  the  churches 
had  fallen  in  on  the  people,  so  that  they  had  to  be 
pulled  out  of  the  rubbish.  He  said :  "How  fortunate 
we  were."  On  the  second  Sunday  in  May  he  began 
mission  meetings,  the  Dutch  governor  being  present 
to  show  his  sympathy.  Kam  urged  upon  them  very 
earnestly  the  need  of  a  Bible  Society,  so  as  to  dis- 
tribute Bibles,  and  one  was  organized  June  5.  This 
Society  soon  raised  4,000  thalers  and  scattered  4,000 
Malay  Bibles. 

He  not  only  preached  the  gospel  in  Amboyna,  but 
he  showed  his  wonderful  activity  by  preaching  on 
the  other  islands.  Being  the  only  minister  at  that 
time  in  the  Moluccas  he,  every  year,  visited  the  con- 
gregations in  the  neighboring  islands.  During  the 
summer  of  181 5  he  made  a  journey  to  the  neighbor- 
ing islands  of  Haruko,  Sapama  and  Ceram.  Haruko 
had  6,000  Christians  and  Sapama  9,000.  He  found  in 
Haruko  that  many  of  the  villages  had  sunk  back  into 


The  Reformed  Church.  307 

idolatry.  But  the  earthquake  had  been  to  them  a  loud 
call  of  God  to  bring  them  back  to  repentance ;  and 
they  had  everywhere  been  burning  their  idols,  and 
were  only  waiting  for  some  Christian  minister  to 
come  and  preach  the  gospel  to  them.  He,  therefore, 
found  a  field  prepared  for  the  harvest.  His  services 
were  attended  by  great  crowds.  He  baptized  many 
children,  and  received  many  adults  into  the  Church, 
after  they  had  confessed  their  penitence  and  made  a 
profession  of  faith.  He  stayed  with  them  eight 
days,  preaching  every  evening,  and  was  visited  by 
multitudes  seeking  Christ.  He  then  celebrated  the 
Lord's  Supper  amid  the  tears  of  the  communicants. 
On  October  16  he  left  that  island  and  came  to  Ceram, 
where  a  great  crowd  of  men  awaited  his  coming. 
And  when  he  landed,  they  all  cried  out :  "Welcome 
to  our  villages.  Praise  to  God,  who  visits  us  with  His 
salvation."  Twenty  years  had  passed  since  a  Chris- 
tian minister  had  been  seen  among  them.  He  found, 
however,  that  unlike  the  inhabitants  of  Haruko, 
these  had  not  lapsed  back  into  idolatry,  but  had  re- 
mained firm,  and  were  waiting  for  a  minister  to 
come  and  baptize  and  administer  communion.  He, 
therefore,  spent  much  time  in  baptizing  their  chil- 
dren and  in  preparing  adults,  who  had  grown  up 


3o8  Great  Missionaries  of 

without  baptism,  for  baptism.  Here  he  found  the 
Alvure  tribe,  who  were  of  the  same  race  as  the  Hot- 
tentots in  Africa,  and  who,  in  their  low,  sunken  con- 
dition, offered  a  wide  field  for  missions.  He 
preached  in  twelve  villages  of  the  island.  When  the 
communion  came,  he  had  to  use  ship  crackers,  as 
there  was  no  bread,  for  they  use  sago  and  fruits, 
not  bread,  for  food. 

In  one  of  the  villages  his  life  was  endangered. 
For  only  two  hours  after  his  departure  it  was  at- 
tacked by  the  cruel  Alvures  and  some  of  the  villag- 
ers killed.  Then  he  went  to  the  island  Sapama, 
which  had  twenty-two  Christian  villages  and  a 
Christian  population  of  ii,ooo.  There  he  stayed 
three  weeks.  On  this  island  he  found  more  educa- 
tion and  culture.  He  found  in  many  places  an 
awakening  among  the  Christians.  Although  the 
heat  had  become  stifling,  yet  his  labors  were  un- 
broken and  his  strength  was  continued.  The  inter- 
est of  the  natives  in  his  journeys  was  so  intense  that 
many  followed  him  from  one  village  to  another,  and 
even  from  one  island  to  another.  He  returned  to 
Amboyna,  December  4,  181 5.  His  report  was  that 
he  had  baptized  2,919  children  at  Amboyna,  1,290 
at  Haruko,  2,538  in  Sepama,  650  adults  in  Ceram, 


The  Reformed  Church.  309 

and  156  adult  heathen,  making  a  total  of  7,553,  to 
which  must  be  added  1837  baptized  heathen  in  Am- 
boyna  and  other  islands,  a  total  of  9,490.  Few  mis- 
sionaries ever  had  the  opportunity  or  the  honor  of 
doing  so  great  a  work  for  the  Church. 

Nor  did  he  rest  long.  Like  the  Apostle  Paul,  he 
was  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season.  His  active, 
consecrated  spirit  could  not  rest  when  there  was  so 
much  work  to  be  done.  Being  the  only  minister,  his 
work  in  reviving  these  churches  was  very  laborious. 
By  March,  1816,  he  was  again  on  his  travels.  This 
time  he  visited  other  islands — Buno  and  Manieke. 
On  the  former  island  there  had  been  no  minister  for 
thirty  years,  so  that  the  membership  of  the  congre- 
gation had  almost  died  out  and  was  limited  to  six  old 
persons.  There  were  great  crowds  who  attended  his 
services,  who,  it  is  true,  had  heard  the  Christian  re- 
ligion from  the  schoolmasters  stationed  on  the 
island,  but  they  had  never  been  baptized  or  even  seen 
a  baptism.  He  there  baptized  200  adults  and  3,000 
children  under  twelve  years.  His  services  were 
greatly  crowded,  but  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of 
Bibles  and  Church  books.  Many  could  read,  having 
been  taught  reading  in  the  schools.  And  they  con- 
sidered themselves  happy,  if  they  could  by  chance 


310  Great  Missionaries  of 

get  hold  of  only  one  page  of  the  Bible.  On  his  re- 
turn he  was  very  nearly  shipwrecked,  as  the  storm 
drove  them  toward  the  rocks,  but  a  kind  Providence 
made  him  escape  in  safety.  In  the  fall  of  that  year 
he  again  visited  Haruko,  where  he  was  glad  to  no- 
tice an  evident  progress  in  the  spiritual  things.  Many 
whom  he  had  baptized,  had  become  communicants. 
He  also  visited  Ceram,  where  a  man  came  to  him 
from  Nulalliwu,  a  village  whose  inhabitants  had 
gone  back  to  idolatry,  and  had  burned  their  church 
and  their  Bibles.  He  came  to  ask  Kam  to  come  and 
preach  the  Gospel  among  them  again.  Kam  went 
to  them  and  stayed  with  them  three  days.  But  even 
before  his  coming  they  had  gathered  together  their 
idols  and  burned  them,  and  they  had  also  burned 
the  houses  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  devils.  The 
idols  they  burned  were  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thalers.  Amid  the  tears  of  the  congregation  he 
preached  to  them  of  Christ;  and  after  he  was 
through  many  came  forward  and  promised  that  here- 
after they  would  never  go  back  to  idolatry  again, 
but  would  remain  true  to  God  and  His  Word. 

In  the  autumn  of  1817  he  sailed  for  the  island  of 
Celebes,  where  he  found  a  large  field  among  the 
nominal  Christians,  and  also  among  the  Chinese.  He 


The  Reformed  Church.  311 

had  hardly  landed,  when  an  Alvure  chief  came  to 
him  and  asked  him  earnestly  for  a  teacher  for  his 
village.  Kam  asked  him  why  he  wanted  to  be  a 
Christian.  "Because,"  he  replied,  "I  know  that  the 
Christian  religion  is  the  best."  Kam  promised  him 
a  teacher,  and  the  chief's  heart  was  greatly  stirred  as 
he  attended  service  in  the  house  of  the  governor, 
where  a  number  of  adults  and  three  Chinese,  who 
desired  to  profess  their  faith  in  Christ,  were  bap- 
tized. He  then  visited  the  Sangir  islands,  where  the 
king  attended  the  service  with  his  whole  family,  as 
did  a  great  crowd  of  people.  He  then  visited  the 
island  Dschian,  where  he  found  the  king  a  very 
pious  man.  The  king  read  the  Bible  daily,  and  re- 
joiced greatly  to  hear  him  preach  and  converse  with 
him.  He  urged  Kam  to  baptize  a  large  number  of 
slaves  who  had  been  instructed  by  a  pious  school- 
master. Kam  then  went  again  to  the  Sangir  islands, 
where  he  found  the  people  in  a  still  sadder  condition 
than  on  the  other  islands.  Even  the  school  teacher 
had  only  scattered  leaves  of  the  Bible  with  which  to 
teach.  Instead  of  paper  they  had  to  use  pieces  of 
white  wood  on  which  to  write.  In  some  villages 
there  were  no  schoolmasters,  and  the  little  boys  read 
to  the  older  persons  in  the  churches.    The  poor  peo- 


312  Great  Missionaries  of 

pie  received  him  joyfully,  and  he  had  to  split  up  his 
New  Testament,  leaving  a  gospel  or  an  epistle  to 
each  church.  "But  what  was  that,"  he  says,  "among 
a  people  who  needed  3,000  Bibles?"  Everywhere, 
by  the  king  and  the  people,  he  found  a  joyful  hear- 
ing. On  this  journey  he  stayed  so  long  that  his 
friends  at  home  gave  him  up  as  lost.  When  he  re- 
turned to  Amboyna,  they  streamed  in  crowds  to  his 
house,  singing  psalms  of  thanksgiving  that  his  life 
had  been  spared.  At  which  his  captain  wondered 
and  said  to  the  physician :  "See  how  those  sheep  love 
their  shepherd."  In  1818  he  made  another  trip  to 
Haruko,  Sapama  and  Ceram.  While  at  Rasalout, 
robbers  appeared  in  the  night,  for  the  islands  were 
infested  with  pirates,  but  he  was  saved  by  the  Dutch 
resident  sending  troops. 

Kam  was  not  only  active  in  travelling  and  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  to  the  poor  heathen,  but  also  in 
writing  home,  telling  the  news  and  the  needs  of  the 
mission  field.  His  letters  about  his  travels  and  his 
appeals  to  the  home  Church  led  the  Netherlands 
Missionary  Society  to  send  out,  in  1818,  three  more 
missionaries — Finn,  Yung-Michael  and  LeBrun. 
The  first  was  to  remain  with  Kam  and  aid  him  in  his 
twenty-eight    congregations   in  Amboyna  and  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  313 

sixty  on  the  neighboring  islands,  making  eighty  in 
all,  while  LeBrun  went  to  the  southern  island  of 
Timor,  and  Yung-Michael  went  to  the  twenty-two 
congregations  at  Ternati,  from  which  he  visited 
Celebes  and  the  Sangir  islands.  The  Missionary  So- 
ciety in  Holland  also  sent  him  a  printing  press,  so 
that  he  was  now  able  to  print  Bibles  and  other  devo- 
tional books  for  the  people. 

In  1819  Kam  undertook  a  journey  to  the  eastern 
and  northeastern  parts  of  Amboyna.  Everywhere  he 
was  received  with  gladness,  and  even  with  the  shoot- 
ing of  guns,  so  as  to  show  their  joy.  The  first 
villages  had,  he  knew,  relics  of  idolatry.  He,  there- 
fore, hunted  for  the  idols.  And  as  the  top  of  the 
hill,  on  v^hich  they  were,  was  dangerous,  he  sent  his 
companion  up,  who  in  a  moment  threw  all  the  par- 
aphernalia of  idolatry  over  the  precipice,  so  that  the 
idols  were  broken  to  pieces  before  his  eyes.  Only 
one  beautiful  earthen  vessel,  decked  with  garlands 
of  flowers,  which  held  an  offering,  his  companion  did 
not  want  to  destroy,  and  brought  it  down  with  him. 
Kam  paid  him  for  its  full  value,  and  then  had  it 
broken  to  pieces.  He  aimed  to  show  to  the  congre- 
gation how  wrong  it  was  to  retain  any  of  these 
things.    This  act  of  his  made  a  deep  impression  on 


314  Great  Missionaries  of 

all  the  neighboring  villages,  who  hastened  to  put 
away  idolatry.  He  rejoiced  to  scatter  4,000  Bibles, 
but  soon  found  that  they  were  not  enough.  They, 
however,  awakened  a  great  interest.  Indeed,  some- 
times the  desire  to  possess  a  Bible  was  so  great  that 
he  could  not  forbear  cutting  up  copies  of  the  New 
Testament  and  scattering  them  in  parts  among  the 
hungry  people.  In  the  near  village  of  Liliboi,  he 
says,  he  knew  there  was  a  chest  of  idols,  decked  in 
costly  gilt  clothes.  He  did  not  publicly  speak  of  his 
desire  to  destroy  them,  but  preached  very  earnestly 
on  Colossians  3:1,  "Ye  are  raised  up  with  Christ." 
The  next  day  the  elders  came  and  asked  him  if  he 
did  not  think  anything  more  about  the  idols.  He 
said:  "Bring  them  all  to  me."  They  were  all 
brought  to  the  school,  packed  into  a  sack  and  cast 
into  the  sea,  while  the  people  sang  psalms.  In  1820 
he  had  3,000  copies  of  a  small  catechism  printed  to 
satisfy  the  longings  of  the  people  for  the  Word. 

Thus  Kam,  with  wonderful  wisdom,  activity  and 
consecration,  watched  over  and  guided  the  evangeli- 
zation of  these  islands.  Year  after  year  he  visited 
the  islands,  evangelizing  or  sending  them  mission- 
aries, who  were  sent  out  from  Holland.  Good  re- 
ports came  from  the  mission  stations  to  him  as  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  315 

results  of  his  work.  Thus,  in  182 1,  a  teacher  on  the 
island  Haruko  reported  that  the  inhabitants  of  a 
village,  of  their  own  accord,  cast  away  their  idols, 
burning  them  and  casting  their  ashes  into  the  sea. 
In  1823  he  visited  the  southwesterly  islands,  after  he 
had  received  a  hundred  souls  into  his  own  congre- 
gation at  Amboyna.  In  1825  he  visited  the  large 
island  of  Timor,  with  its  more  than  20,000  nominal 
Christian  inhabitants.  In  1827  he  again  went  on  his 
journeys  to  Buno  and  Sapama,  baptizing  and  add- 
ing to  the  Church.  On  this  trip  he  added  600  to 
the  Qiurch  and  administered  the  communion  to 
4,000.  He  founded  a  seminary  at  Amboyna,  where 
school  teachers  were  to  be  trained.  In  it,  by  1828, 
he  had  trained  28  school  teachers  and  sent  them  to 
the  neighboring  islands.  This  seminary  became  a 
power  for  the  Church  in  later  years. 

But  his  large  field  proved  too  much  for  his 
strength.  In  his  own  charge  at  Amboyna  he  had  80 
churches  and  50,000  Christians,  and  100  schools  to 
superintend.  The  largeness  of  his  field  prevented 
him  from  doing  as  thorough  work  as  he  wished. 
But  there  is  no  question  about  his  faithfulness  and 
consecration.  He  and  Vanderkemp  of  South  Africa 
are  the  two  jewels  in  the  crown  of  the  Reformed 


3i6  Great  Missionaries  of 

missions  of  Holland.  He  went  thus  up  and  down, 
from  island  to  island,  and  from  church  to  church,  la- 
boring in  God's  vineyard  until  he  wore  his  life  out; 
and  in  July,  1833,  he  died  of  overwork.  But  he  had 
become  the  father  of  those  island  churches,  and  was 
looked  up  to  by  the  native  Christians  as  a  father  in 
Israel.  He  had  well  earned  his  title — the  Apostle 
of  the  Moluccas. 

His  death  caused  great  weeping  and  mourning 
throughout  all  those  islands.  He  was  greatly 
missed  by  the  missionaries,  but  his  labors  of  nearly 
twenty  years  laid  the  foundations  of  the  East  Indies 
missions  again.  Wherever  he  would  go,  he  was 
looked  on  by  the  simple-hearted  natives  as  an  angel 
from  heathen.  He  was,  indeed,  an  earthly  angel — 
a  messenger  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  them.  He  was 
truly  an  Apostle  Paul  of  the  nineteenth  century,  "in 
journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of 
robbers,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the 
wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  weariness  and 
painfulness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst, 
in" fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness."  His  labors 
among  those  Spice  islands  made  them  come  up  be- 
fore God  as  a  sweet  smelling  savor;  and  the  fra- 
grance of  his  life,  greater  than  the  scent  of  the 
islands,  has  gone  out  into  the  ends  of  the  earth. 


Chapter  II. 

EMDE  THE  WATCHMAKER  OF  SURABEYA 

The  Island  of  Java — the  pearl  of  the  Dutch  East 
Indies, — with  its  population  of  twenty-two  mil- 
lions, mostly  Buddhists  (though  with  some  Mo- 
hammedans), has  made  little  progress  in  mis- 
sions. Missions  were  planted  there  very  early  in 
the  17th  century,  Justus  Heurnius  being  one  of  the 
first  and  greatest  of  these  early  Dutch  missionaries. 
A  graduate  in  medicine  and  theology  at  Leyden,  he 
wrote  a  book  to  interest  his  countrymen  in  missions 
in  16 1 8,  which  caused  a  great  stir,  and  in  1624  the 
East  India  Company  sent  him  to  Batavia,  where  he 
at  once  began  laboring  among  the  Malays  and 
Chinese.  His  earnest  evangelistic  spirit  led  him  to 
preach  a  sermon  on  the  826.  to  the  85th  answers  of 
the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  in  which  he  urged  that  the 
church  there  should  become  independent  of  the 
State.  This  brought  him  into  collision  (1632)  with 
the  governor  of  the  East  India  Company,  who  ar- 
rested and  imprisoned  him.  When  released  he  left 
Java,  in  1633,  for  the  island  of  Amboyna,  where  he 
labored  most  earnestly  among  the  natives.  The  Mo- 
hammedans were  also   active   in  missionary   work 

17 


3i8  Great  Missionaries  of 

there  at  that  time,  and  they  poisoned  his  food. 
Though  he  did  not  die  yet  it  so  weakened  his  system 
that  he  was  finally  compelled,  1638,  to  return  to  Hol- 
land. But  he  still  labored  hard  to  interest  his  coun- 
trymen in  missions  and  before  he  died  he  had  done 
considerable  translation  of  the  parts  of  the  Bible  into 
Malay.  The  Dutch  by  1758  had  the  whole  Bible 
translated  into  Malay.  But  though  it  is  said  there 
were  100,000  converts  in  Java  by  the  end  of  the 
17th  century,  yet  the  work  had  been  so  superficially 
done  that  little  remained  of  the  early  mission,  and  in 
the  19th  century  Christian  work  in  Java  has  been 
exceedingly  hard,  there  being  now,  it  is  said,  only 
about  12,000  converts. 

But  in  spite  of  this  darkness,  three  points  of  light 
appear  in  missionary  work  in  that  beautiful  island, 
the  Christian  colony  at  Depok,  the  life  and  work  of 
the  Dutch  Reformed  missionary  Jellesma,  and  the 
remarkable  work  of  the  layman  Emde. 

Depok  is  a  town  seven  miles  south  of  Batavia, 
which  a  pious  merchant  named  Chastelein  founded 
with  his  slaves  in  171 5.  He  ofifered  to  give  them  their 
freedom  and  the  land  they  occupied,  if  they  would 
become  Christians.  They  did  so  and  were  baptized. 
A     clean,     beautiful     village     sprang     up     there, 


The  Reformed  Church.  319 

quite  in  contrast  with  the  filthy  heathen  vil- 
lages around.  It  was  a  little  land  of  Goshen  in  the 
midst  of  the  darkness  of  Egypt — an  oasis  in  the 
desert.  The  Rhenish  Missionary  Society  in  1878  es- 
tablished a  training  school  for  evangelists  in  this  vil- 
lage. When  Rev.  Dr.  Jessup  visited  it  in  1893  he 
found  a  strong  native  church  there  and  a  theological 
seminary  with  thirty  students  from  different  parts 
of  the  East  Indies, — the  sons  of  cruel  head-hunters 
of  Borneo,  of  the  fierce  islanders  of  Celebes,  of  can- 
nibals of  Sumatra  as  well  as  of  Java. 

Jellesma  was  sent  out  by  the  Netherlands  Mis- 
sionary Society  and  labored  first  at  Surabeya,  1848, 
where  the  government  forbade  him  to  labor  outside 
of  the  town,  as  it  did  not  want  him  to  convert  the 
heathen.  As  soon  as  permission  was  given  him,  in 
185 1,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  seminary  at  Morjo- 
Warno  (1852).  By  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1858,  in 
seventeen  villages  there  were  200  Christians.  On 
his  tombstone  is  the  inscription,  "The  Apostle  to  the 
Javanese."  There  are  now  4,200  Christians  in  that 
district. 

At  Aroldsen,  in  the  county  of  Waldeck,  Germany, 
there  was  a  child  born  in  1774,  named  Emde.  He 
went  to  school  in  a  neighboring  village,  where  the 


320  Great  Missionaries  of 

schoolmaster  made  such  a  deep  impression  on  him 
by  his  teachings,  that  whenever  Emde  would  speak 
of  him,  even  sixty  years  after  in  distant  Java,  he 
would  take  off  his  hat.  His  father  taught  him  the 
trade  of  miller,  but  the  family  was  so  large  that 
young  Emde  often  suffered  from  want,  so  when  he 
was  sixteen  years  old,  he  left  home,  and,  like  the 
German  apprentices,  he  travelled  around  through 
Hesse,  Thuringia  and  Hanover,  and  finally  West- 
phalia. But  he  did  not  like  the  Westphalian  mills, 
and  so  returned  home  again.  In  1801  a  younger 
brother  went  to  Holland  as  a  soldier,  and  he  went 
after  him  to  hunt  him  up.  But  when  he  came  to  the 
Dutch  border,  his  papers  were  found  to  be  im- 
properly made  out,  and  he  was  ordered  to  return. 
As  he  was  standing  there,  a  Dutch  courier,  who  had 
lost  a  servant,  came  down  the  street.  Emde  offered 
to  be  his  servant,  and  was  accepted.  So  he  was  al- 
lowed to  remain  in  Holland.  He  continued  seeking 
his  brother,  but  failed  to  find  out  anything  about 
him. 

At  last  he  became  tired  of  Holland  and  felt  like 
going  to  his  home  again.  Just  then,  when  he  was 
dissatisfied,  he  happened  to  meet  a  number  of  sailors. 
They  told  him  of  a  land  where  sugar  and  coffee 


The  Reformed  Church.  321 

grew,  and  where  there  was  no  winter,  but  an  unend- 
ing summer.  He  believed  them  when  they  told  him 
about  the  sugar  and  the  coffee;  but  to  his  simple 
mind  the  last  statement  was  contrary  to  the  Bible, 
and  therefore  could  not  be  true,  for  Genesis  8:22 
said  summer  and  winter  should  not  cease.  And 
so  he  said  he  would  not  believe  them.  But  although 
he  did  not  believe  them,  the  news  disquieted  him. 
He  kept  on  thinking  about  this  land  of  perpetual' 
summer.    His  curiosity  was  aroused. 

Finally,  as  he  was  tired  of  the  flat  lowlands  of  Hol- 
land and  its  windmills,  he  determined  he  would  go  to 
Java  and  see  for  himself  whether  there  was  a  land 
there  where  there  was  no  winter.  He  took  a  situa- 
tion as  a  sailor  on  a  vessel  bound  for  Batavia.  Al- 
though his  pay  was  small,  he  consoled  himself  that 
that  would  enable  him  to  see  this  strange  land  of 
summer,  and  he  would  still  have  thirty-six  dollars  in 
addition  in  his  pocket.  When  he  came  to  Batavia, 
he  found  that  the  sailors  were  right — that  sugar 
and  coffee  grew  in  that  paradise  of  earth,  the  island 
of  Java ;  and  he  also  found  that  there  was  no  winter, 
only  summer.  How  he  ever  harmonized  it  with  the 
Bible,  we  do  not  know,  but  at  any  rate  it  never  led 
him  to  lose  faith  in  his  Bible.    Afterwards  he  would 


322  Great  Missionaries  of 

have  liked  to  have  returned  to  Europe  and  see  again 
a  real  winter,  even  if  it  froze  him  blue,  yet  he  was 
prevented  by  providential  circumstances  from  ever 
seeing  a  snowflake  again.  For  such  a  strong, 
healthy  laborer,  as  he  was,  was  just  the  kind  that 
the  Dutch  government  wanted  for  its  navy,  as  the 
climate  in  the  East  Indies  carried  off  those  who  were 
sickly  or  weak.  The  government  therefore  com- 
pelled him  to  enter  its  service,  and  packed  him  off  to 
Borneo  on  a  man-of-war  to  suppress  the  pirates. 
Here  he  continued  so  long  that  he  would  often  call 
its  inhabitants  his  countrymen. 

Now  ship-life  was  profligate,  and  with  profanity 
and  obscenity  they  woke  up  in  the  morning  and  went 
to  bed  at  night.  But  the  greater  the  danger,  the 
greater  was  revealed  Emde's  nobleness.  For  he  did 
not  forget  what  the  old  schoolmaster  said  :  "Call  on 
the  Lord  in  thy  need."  When  his  comrades  saw 
that  he  prayed,  they  swore  at  him,  but  he  kept  on 
praying,  until  they  nicknamed  him  "the  praying 
brother."  Emde  was  one  of  those  who,  when  op- 
posed, became  only  the  more  determined.  Often  he 
rebuked  them  for  their  sins  with  the  natives,  and 
when  they  mocked  him,  he  only  prayed  the  more. 
Thus  he  spent  six  years. 


The  Reformed  Church.  323 

One  day  his  vessel  was  anchored  in  the  Rhede  be- 
fore Banjarmassing.  The  Dutch  Resident  wanted 
to  go  to  Tabenio,  so  they  sailed  that  night,  but  came 
to  Tabenio  in  a  thick  fog.  The  sea  was  very  shallow 
there,  and  it  was  low  tide.  When  the  fog  lifted,  the 
shore  was  filled  with  pirates,  who  had  many  boats. 
In  these  they  rapidly  approached  the  bessel,  which 
had  become  becalmed  in  a  fog.  They  came  toward 
her  on  the  side  where  there  were  no  cannons.  When 
Emde  saw  the  great  danger,  he  cried  unto  his  God 
for  help,  and  he  had  great  peace  of  soul.  But  the 
Dutch  Resident  on  board  gave  up  hope,  and  ordered 
the  vessel  to  be  blown  up.  Emde  thought,  however, 
it  would  be  plenty  of  time  to  do  that  when  the  en- 
emy had  come  on  deck.  He,  therefore,  gathered  his 
comrades  around  him,  and  prepared  to  fight  with 
the  pirates.  The  balls  flew  thick.  Many  of  his  com- 
rades fell  on  his  right  and  his  left.  Nearer  and 
nearer  came  the  boats  of  pirates,  until  they  were 
within  two  rudders'  lengths  of  the  ship.  Suddenly, 
as  if  by  accident — no,  it  was  in  answer  to  Emde's 
prayers ! — a  wind  sprang  up  and  filled  the  sails.  The 
steersman  quickly  turned  the  ship,  so  that  the  side 
that  had  cannons  was  turned  toward  the  pirates. 
The  sailors  fired  a  broadside,  and  the  waves  were 


324  Great  Missionaries  of 

immediately  filled  with  overturned  boats  and  dying 
pirates.  For  this  deliverance  his  impious  comrades 
considered  him  for  a  time  a  brave  man,  but  they 
soon  forgot  it  again.  His  vessel  then  went  to  Sura- 
baya, and,  as  he  was  sick,  he  received  permission  to 
stay  there  for  a  while,  although  not  allowed  to  leave 
the  Dutch  service.  When  the  English  conquered 
Java  in  181 1  he  became  free  from  the  government's 
employ  and  located  at  Surabaya. 

Surabaya  was,  next  to  Batavia,  the  largest  com- 
mercial town  on  the  island.  It  is  beautifully  situated 
along  the  river  Kalimas,  which  divides  it  into  two 
parts.  On  the  one  side  of  the  river  was  the  native 
town,  where  the  Chinese  lived  in  stone  houses  and 
the  Japanese  in  bamboo  huts.  A  large  bridge  across 
the  river  joined  that  part  of  the  city  with  the  Dutch 
town.  Emde  soon  found  a  German  from  West- 
phalia who  formed  a  strong  attachment  for  him,  as 
they  camiC  from  the  same  country.  This  German 
taught  him  to  repair  watches.  Emde  was  glad  to 
learn  this  trade,  for  in  Java  there  were  no  mills,  and 
his  trade  as  miller  was  useless  to  him.  These  two 
Germans  lived  together  for  a  while,  and  at  last  mar- 
ried two  sisters,  who  were  in  reality  Javanese 
princesses.    For  the  old  Javanese  nobles  had  become 


The  Reformed  Church.  325 

very  poor,  and  were  glad  to  marry  their  children  to 
the  Dutch.  These  wives  were,  however,  both  Mo- 
hammedans, for  European  women  were  scarce 
there. 

But  they  had  many  privations.  Emde  had  no 
church  to  attend.  No  man  cared  for  the  souls  that 
were  there.  The  Dutch  were  largely  rationalists  or 
gross  sinners,  and  the  poor  natives  were  left  to  die  in 
dark  heathenism.  It  was  not  till  1814  that  Jan 
Kam  arrived,  to  his  great  joy.  As  Kam  was  de- 
tained there  by  being  unable  to  sail,  Emde  and  some 
others  came  to  him,  asking  him  to  hold  a  religious 
service.  Thus  Emde  started  a  fire  that  never  went 
out.  When  Kam  had  to  go  away,  he  appointed 
Emde  to  continue  the  services.  Right  faithfully  did 
this  simple  watchmaker  perform  his  duty.  He 
would  gather  the  few  who  would  come  every  even- 
ing. They  would  sing  a  hymn  and  Emde  would 
pray,  read  a  selection  of  Scripture,  and  explain  it  as 
well  as  he  could.  As  long  as  only  a  few  attended, 
the  services  met  no  opposition.  But  when  they  be- 
gan to  increase  in  size  and  influence,  then  they 
aroused  opposition.  The  Dutch  residents  mocked 
at  him,  and  even  threw  stones  at  him  in  the  street, 
and  posted  up  scandalous  pictures  of  his  meetings. 


326  Great  Missionaries  of 

But  he  bravely  kept  on  with  his  work,  and  God  rich- 
ly blessed  and  rewarded  him.  For  when  by  and  by 
a  missionary  passed  through  the  town  again,  Emde 
had  the  great  joy  of  having  his  wife  baptized,  as  did 
his  German  friend  also. 

Finally  in  1820  a  Dutch  minister  was  placed  at 
Surabaya.  But,  alas,  he  was  a  rationalist,  like  so 
many  in  Holland  then,  and  preached  not  the  Gospel, 
but  only  morality.  Still  Emde  and  his  friends  puno 
tually  attended  church,  although  the  minister  fed 
them  on  husks.  Yes,  sometimes  Emde  and  his  band 
were  the  only  ones  who  were  there.  And  after  ser- 
vice they  would  go  to  some  one  of  their  houses,  and 
kneel  down  and  pray  God's  blessing  of  the  word 
preached.  On  Sunday  afternoons  Emde  would 
teach  his  own  family  about  the  Bible.  But  all  these 
things  were  not  viewed  with  favor  by  the  minister, 
who  looked  on  Emde  as  a  Methodist.  And,  al- 
though Emde  was  his  best  friend  and  most  faithful 
attendant,  he  caused  him  to  be  arrested  as  a  dan- 
gerous man,  and  brought  him  before  the  magistrates. 
There  Emde  bravely  convicted  the  minister,  showing 
that  he  really  shut  out  the  people  by  his  miserable 
sermons,  and  yet  persecuted  those  who  wanted  to 
go  to  church.     For  his  boldness,  Emde  was  put  in 


The  Reformed  Church.  327 

prison  for  a  number  of  weeks.  But  though  they 
could  lock  the  door  on  him,  nevertheless  they  could 
not  shut  his  mouth.  He  began  preaching,  like  Paul, 
to  the  prisoners  about  the  love  and  peace  of  God,  and 
so  powerful  was  his  preaching  that  the  magistrates 
were  afraid  that  what  they  called  Methodism  would 
break  out  in  prison,  and  they  were  glad  to  let  him 
out  again.  His  enemies  even  brought  complaint 
against  him  to  the  governor  general  at  Batavia,  but 
nothing  more  was  done  against  him.  Still  all  these 
persecutions  only  advertised  his  efforts,  and  his 
prayer  meetings  had  unheard-of-success. 

Emde  owed  his  awakening  to  a  missionary  (Jan 
Kam),  and  as  a  result  all  missionaries  were  welcome 
to  his  house  as  they  passed  through,  whether  they 
were  Dutch,  German,  American  or  English.  He 
kept  a  small  suit  of  rooms  in  his  house  as  the  pro- 
phets' chamber.  Owing  to  his  association  with 
them,  he  did  not  find  it  hard  to  organize  a  missionary 
society  at  Surabaya.  The  society  was  not  large,  but 
did  a  great  amount  of  good.  Emde  was  the  soul 
of  the  society.  It  interested  itself  mainly  in  the  mis- 
sion stations  of  missionaries  who  had  stopped  at 
Surabaya.  They  raised  funds,  and  gave  bells  to  the 
mission  stations  and  other  gifts. 


328  Great  Missionaries  of 

Emde  was  an  earnest  soul-winner.  If  any  one 
came  into  his  jewelry  shop,  it  was  not  long  before 
he  would  turn  the  conversation  to  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion. And  he  understood  how  to  do  this  in  a 
masterly  way.  Thus,  once  a  high  officer  of  the 
Dutch  service  came  to  him,  saying  of  his  watch 
somewhat  profanely :  "This  watch  is  devilishly 
dirty."  "I  will  clean  it,"  said  Emde,  "but  it  is  a 
question  which  is  the  dirtier,  your  watch  or  your 
heart."  And  very  soon  he  showed  to  the  officer 
from  the  Bible  that  God  alone  could  cleanse  the 
heart,  or  it,  uncleansed,  would  go  to  the  devil.  On 
another  occasion  a  gentleman  of  rank  came  and 
wanted  something  repaired.  Emde  took  the  watch, 
when  the  officer  happened  to  look  up  at  a  remem- 
brancer on  the  wall.  Emde  quick  as  a  flash  saw  his 
opportunity.  "Do  you  understand  what  you  read?" 
asked  Emde  of  him.  The  gentleman  looked  at  him 
from  tip  to  toe,  and  asked  suspiciously:  "Do  you 
think  that  I  am  a  child  that  I  can't  read?"  "Yes, 
truly,"  was  Emde's  reply,  "I  thought  so,  for  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  gentleman  left  as 
soon  as  possible  in  a  thoughtful  mood. 

Emde's  heart  went  out  for  the  Javanese  natives  at 
Surabaya.    He  especially  began  to  labor  among  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  329 

Lipplapen,  who  were  the  children  of  Dutch  fathers 
and  native  mothers.  These  spoke  the  Malay  lan- 
guage. There  were  some  tracts  in  Malay,  but  in 
such  a  learned  dialect  that  the  ordinary  man  could 
not  understand  them.  Emde  and  his  friends  felt 
their  need.  So  they  began  to  translate  the  New 
Testament  into  Malay  and  use  it  at  their  prayer 
meetings.  They  labored  at  this  translation  for  ten 
years.  Emde  prayed  and  the  people  gave,  and  when 
the  translation  was  finished  the  people  had  gathered 
sufficient  money  for  its  publication.  But  Emde  was 
not  satisfied  with  caring  for  children  of  mixed  mar- 
riages. He  longed  to  save  the  native  Javanese  too. 
For  he  had  married  a  Javanese  wife,  and  that  race 
were  really  his  relatives.  The  Javanese  were  Mo- 
hammedans, but  really  heathen.  But  how  could  he 
get  the  gospel  to  them?  for  he  could  not  understand 
or  speak  their  language,  and  he  felt  he  was  too  old 
and  too  little  of  a  linguist  to  learn  the  language. 

But  still  he  labored  at  it.  By  the  aid  of  his  wife 
and  daughter  he  had  tracts  translated  in  Javanese, 
and  also  Scripture  texts,  which  he  would  post  up  on 
the  markets  for  the  natives  to  read.  At  last  the 
New  Testament  had  been  translated  into  Javanese 
by  Bruckner;  he  greatly  rejoiced.    At  his  meetings 


330  Great  Missionaries  of 

his  wife  and  friend,  who  understood  Javanese,  would 
speak  to  the  Javanese  present  in  their  own  language. 
But  for  a  long  time  the  seed  sown  fell  on  stony 
ground.  True,  the  father  and  sister  of  his  wife  were 
baptized,  but  the  Mohammedans  were  hard  to  reach. 
Nevertheless  Emde  should  have  the  credit  of  being 
one  of  the  first  heroes  of  the  faith  to  stand  on  the 
walls  of  the  proud  fort  of  the  false  prophet. 

About  1840  one  day  an  old  Javanese  came  to  his 
shop  from  a  neighboring  village,  Wioong.  He  had 
been  a  priest  there  for  twenty- four  years.  Emde  had 
given  him  a  tract  some  time  before.  Emde  could 
not  talk  with  him,  and  so  had  to  call  his  wife. 
Through  her  the  priest  told  him  how  he  had  read 
the  tract  and  been  deeply  affected  by  it,  and  that  he 
was  willing  to  give  up  the  religion  of  the  false 
prophet  and  believe  on  Christ.  But  he  desired  more 
instruction.  He  was  gladly  instructed,  and  went 
away.  When  he  got  home,  he  gathered  his  people 
together  at  Wioong  and  read  them  the  tract.  His 
act  produced  a  great  sensation  in  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood. That  a  Mohammedan  should  become  a 
Christian  was  surprising.  The  Javanese  came  in 
crowds  to  hear  this  converted  priest.  And  when 
they  asked  him  for  further  instruction,  he  could  only 


The  Reformed  Church.  331 

send  them  to  Emde.  Emde  suddenly  found  his 
house  full  of  Javanese,  who  came  some  of  them  two 
and  three  days'  journey.  Often  more  than  a  hun- 
dred at  a  time  would  be  present.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  a  great  movement,  which  down  to  this 
day  has  not  ended. 

But  difficulties  arose.  Those  who  had  been  awak- 
ened, desired  Christian  baptism.  Emde  could  not 
legally  baptize  them,  so  he  went  to  the  rationalistic 
minister  at  Surabeya.  But  the  latter  only  put  diffi- 
culties in  the  way.  The  government  said  it  sus- 
pected these  Javanese  of  sordid  motives,  as  of  get- 
ting gain  or  position  or  money  by  becoming  Chris- 
tians. It  also  declared  that  it  was  afraid  to  baptize 
them,  lest  it  would  make  the  Mohammedans  angry 
and  there  would  be  an  uprising  among  the  natives 
against  the  Dutch  government.  So  they  were  re- 
fused baptism.  For  about  five  years  twenty  of  them 
held  together.  They  would  come  together  every 
evening,  and  pray,  and  sing,  and  read  the  New  Tes- 
tament, which  Emde  had  given  them,  and  they  would 
attend  Emde's  meetings.  But  their  desire  for  the 
sacrament  became  stronger  and  stronger,  and  at  last 
they  came  to  the  magistrates  for  baptism.  The 
magistrates    severely    questioned   them,    hoping   to 


332  Great  Missionaries  of 

turn  them  aside  from  their  purpose.  But  finding 
they  were  not  able  to  do  this,  they  at  last  granted 
them  permission.  It  was  indeed  a  great  and  happy 
day  for  Emde,  when  on  December  12,  1843,  eighteen 
men,  twelve  women  and  five  children  of  the  Javanese 
were  baptized.  After  that  many  more  were  baptized, 
until  six  years  after  they  had  347  communicants 
and  183  baptized  children. 

Emde's  motto  of  life  and  his  chosen  text  was 
Ezekiel  36:19-38.  He  labored  for  fifty  years  at 
Surabaya  (1809-1859).  As  he  became  older,  his 
Javanese  looked  up  to  him  more  and  more  as  their 
spiritual  father.  They  were  willing  to  do  anything 
for  him.  Thus  when  some  years  before  his  death 
the  river  tore  its  way  before  his  house,  and  the  gov- 
ernment ordered  him  to  repair  the  damages,  the  Jav- 
anese came  in  crowds  and  did  all  the  work  for  him. 
The  early  ridicule  by  the  people  had  long  since  giv- 
en way  to  honor. 

After  his  death  his  daughter  Wilhelmine  contin- 
ued his  work,  until  Jellesma  was  sent  out  in  1848. 
Emde  is  an  illustration  of  what  a  poor  but  earnest 
layman  in  God's  Church  can  do,  if  he  will.  What 
a  rebuke  he  is  to  so  many  laymen  in  our  churches  at 
home,  who  will  not  do  or  say  anything  for  Christ. 


The  Reformed  Church.  333 

And  how  Avonderfully  God  blessed  him  and  honored 
his  feeble  efforts  in  the  salvation  of  souls.  Emde 
will  have  a  higher  crown  in  heaven  than  many  kings, 
for  he  was  a  true  Christian  nobleman,  and  his  crown 
will  shine  forever  with  many  stars. 


Chapter  III. 

JOHN  F.  RIEDEL. 

Minahassa  is  the  pearl  of  Dutch  missions  and 
the  crown  of  missions  in  the  East  Indies.  Mina- 
hassa is  a  promontory  at  the  extreme  north- 
eastern end  of  the  island  of  Celebes,  which 
lies  east  of  the  island  of  Borneo.  The  work 
of  missions  in  Celebes  was  begun  early  by  the 
Dutch.  When  the  Spanish  were  driven  out  by 
the  Dutch  in  1661  a  Christian  congregation  was 
founded.  At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury there  were  5,400  adherents  to  Christianity  in 
Minahassa,  but  after  the  missionary  fashion  of  that 
day,  the  work  was  very  superficially  done,  as  only 
a  few  of  them  were  communicants.  Then  years  often 
passed  without  a  visit  from  any  missionary  to  them. 
Their  low  condition  may  be  imagined  when  one  re- 
members that  twenty-eight  years  elapsed  without 
their  seeing  a  missionary,  till  Rev.  Mr.  Kam  came 
in  1817.  It  was  not,  therefore,  till  1822  that  the  real 
work  of  evangelizing  this  peninsula  began.  The 
Netherlands  Missionary  Society  then  sent  its  mis- 
sionaries, Lammers  and  Muller,  to  the  island.  But, 
alas !  the  first  died  two  years  after  he  arrived,  and 

W5 


336  Great  Missionanes  of 

the  second  two  years  after  him.  Their  place  was, 
however,  taken  by  the  pious  Hellendoorn,  called  by 
the  people  "The  Pious  Peter."  Born  at  Amsterdam 
1793,  he  had  been  educated  at  the  Mission  Seminary 
at  Berkel,  1816-1819.  When  he  arrived  there,  he 
found  only  three  communicants.  He,  however,  la- 
bored hard  at  Menado,  the  principal  city,  scattering 
the  seed ;  and  by  prayer  and  preaching  and  opening 
schools,  his  work  prospered,  until  when  he  died  in 
1839  he  had  baptized  250  adults  and  1,550  children, 
and  received  115  into  Church  membership. 

But  it  was  the  coming  of  the  next  two  mission- 
aries, Riedel  and  Schwartz,  which  led  to  the  quiet 
but  complete  conversion  of  this  part  of  the  island  of 
Celebes,  so  that  where  there  were  three  in  Hellen- 
doorn's  time,  there  are  now  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  Christian  adherents.  The  method  which 
they  pursued  to  produce  such  great  results  was  not 
street  preaching,  such  as  is  practiced  so  successfully 
in  India,  but  they  did  it  by  personal  conversation. 
It  happened  that  there  were  watchhouses  every- 
where, and  in  the  leading  cities  there  were  a  great 
many  watchmen,  who  were  called  from  various  dis- 
tricts to  serve  in  them.  Thesa  watchhouses  the  mis- 
sionaries visited  very  carefully,  not  to  preach,  but 


The  Reformed  Church.  337 

to  talk  with  the  men.  Street  preaching  was  not  car- 
ried on  at  all  by  the  Netherlands  Missionary  So- 
ciety to  which  they  belonged.  This  method  of 
reaching  them  was  better  than  to  visit  them  in  their 
homes,  for  there  the  missionary  would  have  been 
subject  to  a  number  of  hindrances,  especially  as  the 
farmers  were  rarely  at  home,  and  in  the  rice  season 
they  were  very  busy  in  the  field.  Another  great  aid 
to  the  mission  were  the  schools,  which  were  fostered 
by  the  missionaries.  When  the  missionaries  first 
arrived,  not  an  Alikure,  it  is  said,  could  read,  write 
or  calculate.  But  the  schools  enabled  them  to  get 
hold  of  the  children,  who,  as  they  grew  up,  became 
the  nucleus  around  which  the  mission  formed.  And 
wherever  a  school  was  founded  in  a  village,  it  was 
not  long  before  the  parents  would  also  come  into 
closer  contact  with  the  mission  by  coming  to  see  and 
hear  what  their  own  children  were  doing.  And  as 
the  missionaries  taught  the  children  the  story  of 
the  Bible,  their  young  hearts  were  prepared  to  re- 
ceive Christ  as  their  Saviour.  The  missionaries, 
however,  were  very  careful  about  receiving  persons 
into  church  membership.  In  this  they  were  different 
from  the  early  Dutch  missionaries  of  the  previous 
centuries,  who  received  them  only  too  quickly  into 


338  Great  Missionaries  of 

membership.  Now  the  candidates  for  baptism  had 
to  go  into  training  for  two  or  three  years.  Then,  in 
order  to  become  full  communicants,  they  were  placed 
on  probation  for  a  while,  until  they  revealed  a  proper 
understanding  of  Christian  truth,  and  also  showed  a 
character  suited  to  a  Christian  life.  Undoubtedly 
this  great  care  aided  greatly  in  making  the  founda- 
tions of  the  mission  permanent,  and  prepared  for 
the  astonishing  results  that  followed. 

On  Sunday  the  missionary  usually  preached  in 
two  or  three  of  the  congregations ;  in  the  others  the 
services  were  held  by  an  evangelist  or  school  teacher. 
In  the  afternoon  catechization  was  held  in  many  con- 
gregations, and  also  Bible  readings.  During  the 
week  on  two  or  three  evenings  meetings  for  instruc- 
tion would  be  held.  On  the  first  Monday  evening  of 
each  month  a  mission  meeting  was  held  in  most  of 
the  congregations  and  a  missionary  collection  taken. 
The  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  usually 
two  or  three  times  a  year. 

Schwartz  preached  and  labored  very  faithfully  at 
Langov/an,  preaching  and  founding  schools.  He 
had  to  labor  for  twelve  years  with  little  success.  It 
seemed  as  if  no  converts  appeared.  But  in  1843 
God's  Spirit  was  poured  out  on  his  district,  until 


The  Reformed  Church.  339 

fifteen  congreg-ations  were  founded,  and  he  baptized 
13,068  and  received  into  communion  1,278  before 
he  died  in  1859. 

But  the  most  influential  of  the  three  was  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  John  F.  Riedel,  Schwartz's  com- 
panion. He  was  born  at  Erfurt  in  Germany,  in 
1798.  There,  where  Luther  found  a  Bible  in  a  con- 
vent, he  also  found  the  truth  in  the  Scriptures.  For 
his  father  died  when  he  was  only  three  years  old. 
But  his  grandfather,  over  his  father's  coffin,  desired 
him  to  be  a  Christian.  And  his  mother  watched  over 
him  very  carefully.  Every  morning  and  evening 
the  Bible  was  read  in  the  family,  and  every  Sunday 
the  children  were  in  their  place  in  church.  A  severe 
sickness  brought  him  under  deep  conviction  of  sin 
and  led  him  to  find  full  forgiveness  in  Christ.  The 
wish  of  his  grandfather,  when  his  father  died,  that 
he  might  become  a  good  Christian,  was  fulfilled. 
He  felt  continually  reminded  of  this,  and  would  of- 
ten go  and  stand  before  his  grandfather's  picture 
and  say  to  himself:  "Such  a  pious  man  you  shall 
become."  Although  confirmed  by  a  rationalistic 
preacher,  yet  his  heart  clung  to  the  old  faith,  and 
finally  this  completed  itself  by  his  going  to  Janicke's 
mission  school  in  Berlin  in  1822.     In  1827  Riedel, 

23 


340  Great  Missionaries  of 

with  Schwartz,  left  BerHn  to  go  to  Holland,  and 
then  to  the  East  Indies,  for  the  Netherlands  Society- 
then  appointed  Germans  to  its  missions.  They  sailed 
from  Holland  October  30,  1829,  and  on  July  10, 
1830,  they  visited  Emde,  the  pious  watchmaker  of 
Surabaya,  Java.     Riedel  then  went  to  Amboyna. 

He  continued  the  study  of  the  Malay  language, 
which  he  had  begun  during  his  stay  in  Java.  In 
May,  1831,  he  sailed  for  Menado  in  Celebes,  the 
capital  of  the  promontory  of  Minahassa,  to  begin 
his  life-work.  Kam,  the  apostle  of  the  East  Indies, 
had  now  his  desire  fulfilled.  He  had  long  wanted 
to  have  a  missionary  at  Celebes.  The  Lord  granted 
him,  as  to  Simeon,  this  desire  before  he  died,  for  his 
death  came  three  years  later.  As  Riedel  came  in 
sight  of  the  island,  he  said  to  his  soul,  "This  is  the 
land  where  I  will  spend  my  life,  and,  if  necessary, 
sufifer  there  for  God's  glory."  When  he  arrived  at 
Menado,  he  was  received  with  great  joy  by  the  mis- 
sionary there,  Hellendoorn.  He  soon  started  for  his 
station,  Tondano,  situated  inland  near  a  lake.  On 
his  way  he  spent  a  night  at  Tomohon.  As  he  sat 
that  evening  on  the  veranda,  a  number  of  the  na- 
tives gathered  around  his  interpreter.  The  old 
schoolmaster,  who  had  once  been  a  soldier,  came  to 


The  Reformed  Church.  341 

him,  saying :  "Sir,  I  know  that  you  have  a  book,  out 
of  which  you  have  gained  all  your  knowledge — or 
is  it  two  books?  The  New  Testament  I  have  once 
seen,  and  read  in  it.  But  the  Old  Testament  must 
be  much  more  important,  for  I  have  heard  that  in 
it  was  written  how  the  world  was  made.  Since  I 
have  been  at  Java,  I  no  longer  believe  in  heathenism. 
But  I  would  like  to  know  how  the  earth  and  man 
came  into  being."  His  inquiry  was  a  type  of  the 
seeking  minds  of  the  natives  around.  There  was 
great  ignorance,  but  at  the  same  time  great  readiness 
to  be  taught.  Riedel  went  to  the  house  and  took  a 
Malay  Bible,  out  of  which  he  read  the  story  of  the 
creation.  The  old  soldier  greatly  rejoiced  to  be  giv- 
en the  Bible.  Such  was  the  ignorance  of  the  people, 
and  yet  such  was  their  desire  for  the  truth.  But  if 
the  schoolmaster  was  so  ignorant,  what  must  have 
been  the  condition  of  his  scholars?  He  stands  out 
as  a  type  of  the  spiritual  destitution,  so  common 
there.  Of  Bibles  there  were  none,  and  books  were 
so  rare  that  the  schoolmaster  often  saved  up  with 
great  care  scraps  of  paper,  on  which  there  was 
printing,  so  as  to  be  able  to  have  something  with 
which  to  teach  the  children. 

Riedel  arrived  at  Tondano  October  14,  1831.    On 


342  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  first  Sunday  he  was  prepared  to  preach  a  mem- 
orized sermon  to  them  about  Christ.  Alas,  when 
Sunday  came,  the  natives  went  to  work  in  the  fields 
as  usual,  and  he  was  horrified  by  the  Sabbath- 
breaking.  Finally  he  called  to  one  who  had  been 
baptized,  and  asked  him :  "Can  you  go  to  work  on 
Sunday?"  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "if  we  do  not  have 
an  evil  sign  given  us."  Riedel  expostulated  with 
him.  The  man  tried  to  evade  his  warnings  by  say- 
ing that  he  thought  the  day  before  had  been  Sunday, 
and  he  must  go  this  Sunday,  as  his  servants  would 
be  in  the  field,  waiting  for  him.  Riedel  then  ap- 
pealed to  him,  "You  want  to  be  a  Christian,  and  yet 
work  on  Sunday.  These  two  do  not  agree.  Turn 
around  and  come  to  church."  Riedel  said  this  with 
such  decision  of  voice  that  the  man  did  really  turn 
around  and  come  to  church.  Riedel  began  his  ser- 
vice in  the  little  wooden  chapel.  Not  one-tenth  of 
the  few  baptized  members  came  to  the  service.  The 
sermon  was  listened  to  rather  out  of  curiosity.  When 
he  asked  why  so  few  came,  he  was  answered  that 
they  did  not  know  Sunday  from  any  other  day. 
Many  lived  in  the  fields,  and  were  then  gathering 
in  their  rice  harvest. 

Such  was  the  unpropitious  beginning  of  Riedel's 


The  Reformed  Church.  343 

work  there.  The  conditions  of  the  AHkures  were 
very  low  morally.  They  had  a  bad  reputation  for 
drunkenness,  and  especially  for  thieving,  while  im- 
morality and  superstition  prevailed.  The  school- 
master there  had  not  learned  the  Alikure  language, 
and  the  natives  had  not  learned  the  Malay  language 
which  he  spoke,  so  there  was  little  teaching  in  the 
school.  Riedel  at  once  began  learning  the  native 
language  so  as  to  use  it.  In  the  schools  he  saw  that 
the  children  learned  the  Bible  stories  and  also  learn- 
ed to  sing  psalms,  while  his  wife  began  to  gather 
the  women  and  teach  them  on  Sunday  afternoon. 
But  no  sooner  did  results  begin  to  show  themselves 
than  opposition  arose.  The  devil  was  not  going  to 
surrender  his  control  over  the  people  without  a 
struggle.  The  native  priests  made  fun  of  those  who 
attended  her  class.  The  sewing  school  for  girls, 
however,  proved  so  helpful  that  it  disarmed  opposi- 
tion. Thus  quietly  the  seed  of  the  Gospel  was  being 
scattered.  As  the  natives  were  afraid  to  visit  him, 
he  and  his  wife  made  it  a  point  to  visit  them  and  get 
at  their  hearts  by  sympathy.  Soon,  too,  some  of  the 
baptized  began  to  become  more  intimate  with  him 
and  his  family.  But  heathenism  still  retained  its 
power.    At  the  heathen  feasts  great  crowds  would 


344  Great  Missionaries  of 

gather,  while  the  little  wooden  church  would  remaui 
comparatively  empty. 

Riedel  was  often  greatly  discouraged.  Often  he 
asked  himself  the  question,  "How  can  I  reach  these 
people?"  Finally  Christmas  came.  Then  a  bright 
thought  came  to  him  in  answer  to  oft  repeated 
prayer,  and  he  said  to  his  wife :  "Christmas  is  com- 
ing, you  must  bake  many  cakes — the  German  cakes." 
But  his  good  wife,  although  always  obedient  to  him, 
declared  that  that  would  be  impossible,  for  there  was 
not  enough  flour  in  all  Tondano.  "That  will  not  in- 
terfere," he  replied,  "bake  rice  cakes."  On  the  day 
before  Christmas  he  went  to  the  school  and  invited 
the  scholars.  He  made  them  learn  Christmas  hymns, 
so  that  they  might  sing  on  the  occasion.  The  news 
of  this  soon  spread  abroad  in  the  village.  While  his 
wife  baked,  Riedel  prayed  and  prepared  his  sermon. 
In  the  evening  the  children  came.  They  stood  in  a 
half-circle  around  Riedel.  Outside  of  this  were  a 
great  many  of  the  natives.  Riedel  began  to  cate- 
chise the  children  and  had  them  sing.  The  parents 
were  surprised  at  the  knowledge  of  the  children.  He 
then  explained  the  meaning  of  Christmas  to  the 
people.  The  next  day,  for  the  first  time,  the  little 
church  was  full,  but  still  greater  was  the  crowd  in 


The  Reformed  Church.  345 

the  afternoon  at  his  house.  His  Christmas  cakes 
were  hardly  enough,  so  greatly  were  they  enjoyed. 
This  giving  of  cakes  made  a  sensation  among  the 
natives.  It  was  the  first  act  by  which  he  began  to 
gain  their  hearts,  so  as  to  win  them  to  Christ.  The 
next  day  he  celebrated  communion  in  the  church, 
but  small  was  the  company — only  his  family  and  that 
of  the  Dutch  resident,  seven  in  all.  He  says :  "The 
table  was  small,  but  all  of  us  felt  that  the  Lord  was 
there."  Many  others  were  present,  many  of  whom 
had  never  seen  a  Lord's  Supper  celebrated  before. 
On  New  Year's  Day  the  church  was  again  pretty 
well  filled.  Riedel  now  began  to  take  courage  in  his 
work;  but,  alas,  his  hopes  were  soon  dashed  to  the 
ground.  The  ignorant  people  thought  that  Christ 
died  on  Christmas  and  rose  again  on  New  Year. 
They  utilized  New  Year,  not  for  religion,  but  for 
drunkenness.  So  the  little  church  at  Tondano  re- 
mained empty  as  usual,  only  ten  or  twenty  adult 
baptized  Christians,  in  addition  to  the  children  of 
the  school,  coming  to  service. 

Gradually  Riedel's  work  began  to  tell,  but  very 
slowly  at  first.  He  had  some  medical  knowledge, 
so  that  his  visits  to  the  sick  gave  him  greater  influ- 
ence.   Even  though  the  church  attendants  were  few, 


346  Great  Missionaries  of 

yet  these  few  became  regular,  thus  showing  that  they 
were  being  prepared  by  God's  Spirit  to  make  a  pub- 
He  profession  of  Christ.  After  he  had  been  there 
three  years,  he  wrote  somewhat  more  hopefully  to 
the  Netherlands  Missionary  Society :  "Men  whom  I 
have  had  to  speak  to  against  superstition  three  years 
ago,  now  desire  baptism.  Those  who  lived  in  im- 
morality, have  now  married.  Four  adult  children 
of  two  of  the  most  prominent  heathen  priests  in  this 
district  have  asked  to  be  received  into  the  church. 
An  old  priest,  who  for  thirty  or  forty  years  has  prac- 
ticed his  nefarious  trade  and  made  much  money  by 
it,  has  come  to  me  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  begged 
me  not  to  refuse  him  baptism,  as  through  it  he  hoped 
to  find  rest  to  his  soul." 

Riedel  also  began  making  journeys  to  neighboring 
towns,  looking  up  the  schools.  In  1835  there  were 
in  these  240  boys  and  20  girls.  Thus  Christianity 
began  gaining  power.  When  Christmas,  1834, 
came,  his  church  was  again  so  full  that  many  had  to 
stand  outside.  It  is  true  that  many  came  from  curi- 
osity or  because  some  had  the  idea  that,  in  order  to 
be  a  Christian,  one  had  to  go  to  church  on  Christ- 
mas and  New  Year,  but  the  rest  of  the  year  could 
live  like  a  heathen.    Yet  in  the  midst  of  these  some 


The  Reformed  Church.  347 

in  the  large  congregation  had  been  awakened  and 
were  truly  seekers.  It  was  not,  however,  till  1836 
that  the  church  attendance  began  greatly  to  increase. 
Before  that  time  it  had  been  only  eighty  or  ninety. 
This  year  it  rose  from  200  to  300,  so  that  many 
often  had  to  stand  outside.  His  house,  too,  became 
too  small  for  the  afternoon  gatherings  for  prayer. 
The  Sunday  afternoon  meetings  were  full  of  bless- 
ing. There  he  spoke  the  Alikure  language,  which 
the  people  understood.  There  he  questioned  the  peo- 
ple on  the  sermon  of  the  morning  and  added  explan- 
ations. The  people  listened  with  hungry  hearts,  and 
great  results  began  to  show  themselves.  But  as 
these  meetings  had  become  so  large,  he  did  not 
know  what  to  do.  He  longed  to  enlarge  his  house, 
so  as  to  have  room  for  the  meeting,  but  he  did  not 
have  the  means.  Suddenly  a  gift  of  five  hundred 
florins  came  from  Rotterdam,  and  he  was  able  to 
do  so. 

In  1837,  in  ^  letter,  he  speaks  of  his  eight  catechu- 
mens, among  whom  was  the  oldest  and  most  famous 
of  the  heathen  priests  who  had  been  led  by  sickness 
to  feel  the  need  of  a  Saviour.  When  Riedel  was  first 
sent  for  by  him,  he  found  the  house  full  of  heathen 
priests.     But  the  old  man  declared  before  them  all 


348  Great  Missionaries  of 

that  he  had  cast  aside  his  heathenism  and  would  be 
a  Christian.  Soon  the  news  spread  abroad  that  the 
chief  of  the  AHkures  of  that  village  had  become  a 
Christian.  The  natives  gathered  with  drums,  wish- 
ing him  all  sorts  of  ill  luck  for  this  act.  In  spite  of 
all  their  efforts  he  remained  firm.  When  he  was 
baptized,  it  was  a  day  long  to  be  remembered  in  the 
mission's  history.  The  streets  were  filled  with  na- 
tives, and  so  was  the  church.  When  the  priest  and 
the  other  catechumens  knelt  to  be  baptized,  there 
was  weeping  all  over  the  church.  God's  Spirit  was 
evidently  moving  on  the  hearts  of  the  people.  The 
old  man  died  three  weeks  later,  bearing  a  beautiful 
Christian  testimony.  He  called  his  family  around 
him,  many  of  whom  were  still  heathen,  and  said: 
"You  see  how  good  it  is  to  have  the  Lord  Jesus.  I 
am  sick,  yet  my  pains  are  softened.  My  sins  are  for- 
given, and  I  look  with  joy  at  death.  Yet  I  shall  not 
die,  for  my  soul  will  go  to  God."  Such  words  his 
family  had  never  heard  before,  for  among  the  AH- 
kures they  never  speak  of  death  or  of  the  grave.  And 
when  one  of  his  family  asked  him  what  he  meant  by 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  he  referred  him  to  the 
parable  of  the  sheep  and  the  goats  in  Scripture. 
Another  influence  that  began  to  aid  Riedel  was  a 


The  Reformed  Church.  349 

printing  press,  which,  in  1837,  was  placed  at  Tomo- 
hon,  not  very  far  away.  Often  his  heart  had  been 
pained  by  the  remarks  of  the  scholars :  "You  teach 
us  to  read,  but  of  what  use  is  it,  because  we  have 
nothing  to  read."  A  large  number  of  Bibles  also 
came  to  hand.  Great  was  the  joy  of  the  people  at 
this.  To  buy  them,  some  came  with  money,  here 
one  came  with  a  sack  of  rice,  there  a  girl  with  eggs, 
here  a  woman  with  chickens.  He  was  compelled  to 
build  a  larger  church,  seating  eight  hundred  per- 
sons. Indeed  the  whole  town  began  to  wear  a 
changed  appearance.  On  Sunday  none  of  the  bap- 
tized went  to  work  in  the  fields  with  the  heathen. 
On  the  contrary,  even  in  the  season  of  rice  harvest 
the  baptized  Christians  would  come  up  out  of  the 
rice  fields  in  large  numbers  to  attend  the  services. 
The  day  was  now  spent  in  quietness,  even  the  stamp- 
ing of  rice  ceasing  in  the  early  morning.  "How  en- 
tirely different  it  used  to  be  in  Tondano,"  said  the 
older  natives. 

The  harvest  now  began  coming  in.  In  1841  he 
reports  that  in  that  year  he  had  baptized  136  adults, 
children  of  heathen  195,  and  of  Christians  63 — total 
394.  In  1845  ^  severe  earthquake  produced  great 
seriousness  among  the  people,  wnich  led  many  to 


350  Great  Missionaries  of 

come  into  the  church.  In  1847  ^^  received  200  new 
members  into  the  church,  so  that  his  communicants 
now  numbered  500;  and  owing  to  his  slowness  and 
care  in  receiving  them,  and  his  careful  instruction  of 
them,  in  fifteen  years  only  five  went  astray.  His 
work,  however,  began  growing  beyond  his  strength, 
and  in  1845  ^^  sent  a  request  to  the  Netherlands 
Missionary  Society  for  a  helper,  who,  however,  was 
not  sent  till  five  years  later.  The  number  of  his 
hearers  gradually  rose  until  2,000  could  be  counted, 
and  in  185 1  even  2,500.  The  little  church  had  given 
place  to  an  edifice  seating  2,000  people,  the  largest 
church  on  the  island.  But  as  his  work  became  more 
severe,  he  began  failing  under  it.  In  i860  his  end 
approached.  Twenty-nine  years  he  had  labored 
there;  g^eat  had  been  his  influence,  but  now  his 
work  was  done.  As  he  opened  his  eyes  on  his  death- 
bed, he  saw  some  of  his  members  standing  there. 
To  them  he  bore  his  parting  testimony  for  Christ 
as  he  said,  "It  is  all  of  grace."  He  died  October 
12,  i860. 

Thus  passed  away  a  most  active  laborer  of  Christ. 
His  church  register  revealed  that  he  had  baptized 
9,341  persons,  and  that  he  had  received  not  less  than 
3,851  persons  as  communicants.     About  one-third 


The  Reformed  Church.  351 

of  the  Christians  of  Minahassa  were  the  results  of 
his  labors.  His  work  is  only  a  type  and  picture  of 
the  work  done  in  this  whole  peninsula.  Thus  in 
1857-8  a  great  awakening  occurred  in  the  district 
Ajermadidi,  by  which  more  than  12,000  came  for- 
ward for  baptism.  Schwartz,  Riedel's  companion  in 
mission  work,  baptized  13,068,  but  admitted  to  the 
Lord's  Supper,  1,278.  Wilken,  the  successor  of 
Schwartz  at  Tomohon,  baptized  in  twenty  years 
7,000  persons.  In  1873  of  the  110,000  Alikures  in 
Minahassa  80,000  were  Christians  and  14,000  com- 
municants. They  then  had  twelve  missionaries  and 
one  hundred  and  forty  congregations.  In  1876  the 
report  showed  that  they  had  5,000  baptisms  every 
year,  so  that  of  the  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  of 
that  part  of  the  Celebes  only  a  small  fraction  were 
still  heathen.  In  the  forty  years  between  1840  to 
1880,  77,571  Alikures  were  baptized.  The  zeal  and 
consecration  of  these  Christians  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  in  1865  they  raised  $1,974,  besides 
thousands  of  guldens  for  church  bells,  etc.  No  book 
is  given  away  to  them,  all  buy  their  Bibles  and  re- 
ligious works.  For  their  schools  they  raised  $1,400 
a  year,  and  they  even  raise  money  now  to 
send  the  Gospel  to  heathen  around  them.    The  117 


352  Great  Missionaries  of 

schools  of  the  mission  have  outgrown  the  twenty 
public  schools  of  the  government,  and  had  10,000 
scholars  in  1880.  In  1893  there  were  200  congrega- 
tions and  125  schools.  In  1868  a  school  was  opened 
at  Tomohon  for  the  training  of  assistants  to  the  mis- 
sionaries, which  has  done  valuable  service.  The 
whole  peninsula  is  changed,  transformed  by  Christi- 
anity. The  natives,  who  used  to  be  described  as 
"bold,  rough,  drunken,  given  to  praying  to  the 
devil,"  have  been  radically  changed.  This  is  the 
testimony  of  scientists,  as  well  as  of  missionaries. 
Just  as  Charles  Darwin  was  compelled  to  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  blessed  results  of  missions  by  what  he 
saw  in  Patagonia,  so  his  companion  in  science,  Wal- 
lace, bears  testimony  to  the  work  of  these  mission- 
aries in  Minahassa.  He  says :  "The  missionaries 
have  a  right  to  be  proud  of  this  place.  Forty  years 
ago  the  land  was  a  wilderness,  the  people  a  multi- 
tude of  naked  barbarians  who  decorated  their  rough- 
ly-made huts  with  human  skulls.  Out  of  this  condi- 
tion of  barbarism  they  have  risen  in  a  short  time  to 
a  certain  measure  of  culture  through  the  efforts  of 
the  Dutch  authorities.  The  land  is  now  a  'garden,' 
worthy  of  its  beautiful  name,  Minahassa,  the  villages 
are  now  almost  all  model  villages,  and  the  huts  have 


The  Reformed  Church.  353 

the  appearance  as  if  on  exhibition.  The  streets  are 
covered  with  beautiful  strips  of  green  sward  and 
bordered  by  ever-blooming  hedges  of  roses.  In  each 
village  there  are  very  beautifully  laid  out  coflFee 
gardens,  while  the  inhabitants  take  care  of  acres  of 
fields  of  rice.  In  each  village  there  is  a  school,  in 
the  larger  ones  also  a  church.  The  people  are  all 
neatly  dressed,  and  the  leading  men  and  school 
teachers  can  vie  with  well-dressed  English  people. 
No  one  can  see  these  men  and  hear  their  previous 
condition,  and  can  doubt  that  they  are  morally  and 
physically  higher  than  before."  Another  scientist, 
Dr.  Bleekcn,  says:  "The  Christians  have  become 
new  men.  They  live  better,  eat  better  and  are  clothed 
better.  The  cutting  ofif  of  heads  is  done  away  with. 
Thousands  read,  write  and  can  calculate.  The  pro- 
gress of  the  upper  classes  of  the  schools  is  good. 
Crimes  are  few.  They  obey  their  superiors,  labor 
diligently  and  are  happy.  So  Christianity  and  civili- 
zation have  gone  hand  in  hand."  This  island,  there- 
fore, is  an  answer  to  the  critics  who  have  declared 
that  Dutch  and  East  India  missions  are  a  failure. 
In  this  pearl  of  missions  they  have  been  a  wonderful 
success,  and  are  worthy  to  be  rated  with  Madagas- 
car and  the  Hawaiian  Islands  among  the  modern 
miracles  of  a  "nation  born  in  a  day." 


BOOK   V. 


24 


w 


THE    REFORMED    IN    AMERICA. 
Chapter  I. 

JOHN  MEGAPOLENSIS. 

E  have  already  noticed  the  early  effort  made 
by  the  Dutch  Reformed  to  do  missionary 
work  in  South  America  in  the  seventeenth 


century ;  we  now  turn  to  the  work  of  the  Reformed 
in  North  America  among  the  Indians, 

Popular  opinion  makes  John  Eliot  the  first  For- 
eign Missionary  in  North  America  to  the  Indians. 
But  popular  opinion  is  sometimes  wrong.  For  Meg- 
apolensis  preached  to  the  Indians  three  or  four  years 
before  Eliot  preached  his  first  sermon  to  the  Indians 
in  1648  near  Newton.  But  by  that  year  Megapo- 
lensis'  labors  among  them  at  Albany  were  almost 
over.  The  Reformed  Church  can  therefore  boast 
with  a  just  pride  not  only  of  having  had  the  first 
Protestant  Foreign  Missionary,  but  that  they  also 
had  the  first  Foreign  Missionary  to  the  Indians  in 
North  America  as  well  as  in  South  America. 
John  Eliot,  the  apostle  to  the  Indians,  was 
the  greatest,  but  not  the  first  missionary  to 
them.      In   this  blessed   work  he   was   outstripped 


358  Great  Missionaries  of 

by  the  Reformed.  John  Megapolensis  was  born  at 
Koedyk,  in  Holland,  in  1601.  The  original  name  of 
the  family  was  Van  Mecklenburg,  for  his  father  had 
come  from  Mecklenburg  to  Holland.  But  it  was 
the  fashion  in  those  days  to  change  the  names  into 
Latin,  especially  when  persons  entered  a  profession. 
So  his  name  Van  Mecklenburg  was  changed  into 
Megapolensis. 

The  Dutch  had  already  discovered  the  Hudson 
river,  and  planted  their  colony  there,  called  New 
Amsterdam,  and  had  sold  the  land  to  patroons, 
a  sort  of  American  nobility.  The  patroon  of  Rens- 
selaerswyck,  who  owned  the  land  around  Albany, 
as  he  wanted  a  minister,  engaged  Megapolensis  to 
come  to  America  for  six  years  at  a  salary  of  $400 
and  his  expenses.  The  Classis  of  Amsterdam 
approved  the  call,  and  he  came  to  America,  the 
second  Reformed  minister  to  the  Dutch.  He  was 
about  forty  years  of  age  when  he  left  Holland  for 
New  Amsterdam  (New  York)  in  June,  1642,  and 
arrived  at  Fort  Orange  (Albany)  in  1643.  This 
was  then  nothing  but  a  trading  village,  especially 
for  furs,  but  the  fur  trade  built  up  the  Dutch  com- 
merce. Fort  Orange  was  a  wretched  little  fort  of 
logs,  defended  by  four  or  five  pieces  of  cannon. 
Around  it  was  the  little  village  of  Beavcrswyk  be- 


The  'Reformed  Church.  359 

longing  to  the  patroon,  consisting  of  thirty  or  forty 
wooden  houses  with  thatched  roofs  and  about  a 
hundred  inhabitants.  The  patroon  or  his  agent  Hved 
in  the  principal  house,  and  here  a  room  was  set  aside 
for  religious  service.  Here  the  colonists  used  to 
meet  for  worship,  which  was  conducted  by  one  of 
their  number  who  offered  prayer  and  read  a  sermon. 
However  their  number  had  so  increased  that  they 
wanted  a  minister,  and  therefore  their  patroon  had 
sent  to  Holland  and  gotten  Megapolensis.  They 
soon  built  a  small  church,  nineteen  feet  wide  by 
thirty-four  long.  It  had  a  canopied  pulpit,  with  pews 
for  the  magistrates  and  deacons,  and  nine  benches 
for  the  people,  and  cost  thirty-two  dollars. 

It  was  a  day  of  small  things,  the  church  was  small 
and  the  membership  only  a  handful,  but,  says  Schuy- 
ler quaintly  :  "Whatever  the  edifice  lacked  in  size  and 
dignity,  the  minister  furnished  in  piety  and  ability." 
That  was  no  vain  compliment,  for  Megapolensis 
showed  himself  a  man  of  thorough  scholarship,  en- 
ergetic character  and  decided  piety.  His  preaching 
soon  began  to  exert  an  influence  on  the  rough  man- 
ners of  the  frontiersmen,  and  acted  as  a  restraint  on 
the  immoralities  of  frontier  life.  He  was  the  means 
of  saving  the  life  of  one  of  the  most  devoted  Jesuit 


360  Great  Missionaries  of 

missionaries,  Father  Joques,  who  had  been  cap- 
tured by  the  Indians  while  ascending  the  St. 
Lawrence  river.  The  Dutch  at  once  sought  to  ran- 
som him,  but  the  Indians  refused.  The  Indians  at 
first  despised  his  gospel,  but  at  last  began  to  listen, 
and  by  and  by  some  were  baptized.  They  then  took 
him  with  them  to  Fort  Orange.  Megapolensis  was 
the  means  of  saving  him  from  torture  and  probably 
death.  And  he  also  subsequently  saved  two  other 
Jesuits  from  the  same  fate.  Joques  remained  at  the 
fort,  where  Megapolensis  was  his  constant  friend, 
who  never  ceased  his  kindness  until  he  saw  him  safe 
on  his  way  to  New  Amsterdam. 

But  Megapolensis  did  more  than  save  lives;  he 
aimed  to  save  souls.  And  he  early  became  deeply 
interested  in  the  Mohawk  Indians,  who  came  to  the 
fort  to  trade  in  furs.  In  order  to  be  able  to  speak  to 
them  about  Christianity  and  Christ,  he  studied  their 
language.  This  was  a  very  difficult  task,  for  he 
could  find  no  one  to  help  him,  not  even  the  agent  of 
the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  who  had  lived  there 
twenty  years,  so  he  had  to  make  a  grammar  of  the 
language  himself.  He  wrote  a  book  on  the  Mo- 
hawks, which  was  published  at  Amsterdam  in  165 1. 
In  this  he  describes  his  difficulties  in  getting  their 


The  Reformed  Church.  361 

language.  He  says:  "This  nation  (the  Mohawks) 
has  a  very  heavy  language,  and  I  find  great  difficulty 
in  learning  it,  so  as  to  speak  and  preach  to  them 
fluently.  There  are  no  Christians  who  understand 
the  language  thoroughly.  Those  who  have  lived 
here  long  can  hold  a  kind  of  conversation  just  suf- 
ficiently to  carry  on  trade,  but  they  do  not  under- 
stand the  idiom  of  the  language.  I  am  making  a 
vocabulary  of  the  language,  and  when  I  am  among 
them,  I  ask  how  things  are  called.  Then,  as  they 
are  very  dumb,  I  sometimes  cannot  get  an  explana- 
tion of  what  I  want.  Besides  what  I  have  just  men- 
tioned, one  will  tell  me  a  word  in  the  infinitive,  an- 
other in  the  indicative  mood ;  one  in  the  first  person, 
another  in  the  second  person  ;  one  in  the  present,  an- 
other in  the  perfect  tense.  So  I  stand  sometimes 
and  look,  and  do  not  know  how  to  put  it  down.  And 
as  they  have  their  declensions  and  conjugations,  so 
they  have  their  increases  like  the  Greeks.  I  am 
sometimes  as  if  distracted,  and  can  not  tell  what  to 
do,  and  there  is  no  person  to  set  me  right.  I  must 
do  all  myself  in  order  to  become  an  Indian  gram- 
marian. When  I  first  observed  that  they  pronounced 
their  words  so  differently,  I  asked  the  commissary 
of  the  Company  what  it  meant,  and  he  told  me  he 


362  Great  Missionaries  of 

did  not  know,  but  imagined  they  changed  their 
language  every  two  or  three  years.  I  told  him  it 
could  never  be  that  a  whole  nation  should  so  gener- 
ally change  their  language,  and  though  he  had  been 
connected  with  them  these  twenty  years,  he  can  give 
me  no  assistance," 

In  the  same  book  he  also  described  the  religious 
beliefs  of  the  Indians  in  a  very  quaint  way :  "They 
are  entire  strangers  to  all  religion,  but  they  have  a 
genius  which  they  put  in  the  place  of  God,  but  they 
do  not  worship  or  present  offerings  to  him.  They 
worship  and  present  offerings  to  the  devil.  If  they 
are  unsuccessful  in  war,  they  catch  a  bear,  which 
they  cut  in  pieces,  then  roast  and  offer  to  the  devil. 
Also  when  the  weather  is  very  hot  and  there  comes 
a  cooling  breeze,  they  cry  out  directly,  'I  thank  thee, 
devil.'  If  they  are  sick  or  have  a  pain  or  soreness 
anywhere  in  their  limbs,  and  I  ask  them  what  ails 
them,  they  say  the  devil  sits  in  their  body  and  bites 
them  there,  and  they  also  ascribe  to  the  devil  the 
accidents  that  befall  them.  They  have  otherwise  no 
religion.  When  we  pray,  they  laugh  at  us.  Some 
of  them  despise  it  thoroughly,  and  some,  when  we 
tell  them  what  we  do  when  we  pray,  stand  aston- 
ished." 


The  Reformed  Church.  363 

This  being  their  belief,  his  heart  went  out  for 
them,  so  that  he  might  tell  them  of  Jesus,  who  saved 
from  the  power  of  the  devil.  He  learned  their  lan- 
guage, so  as  to  be  able  to  preach  it  thoroughly.  But 
it  was  a  day  of  small  beginnings.  He  was  glad 
when  only  a  few  of  them  came  to  service.  He  says 
in  his  book :  "When  we  have  a  sermon,  sometimes 
ten  or  twelve  of  them,  more  or  less,  will  attend,  each 
having  in  his  mouth  a  long  tobacco  pipe  made  by 
himself,  and  will  stand  awhile  and  afterwards  ask 
what  I  am  doing,  and  what  I  wanted  that  I  stood 
there  alone  and  made  so  many  words,  and  none  of 
the  rest  might  speak.  I  tell  them  that  I  admonished 
the  Christians  that  they  must  not  steal,  or  drink,  or 
love  lewdness,  or  murder,  and  they  too  ought  not  to 
do  these  things,  and  that  I  intended  afterwhile  to 
come  and  preach  to  them  in  their  country  and  cas- 
tles, when  I  am  acquainted  with  their  language. 
They  say  I  do  well  in  training  the  Christians,  but 
immediately  add,  'Why  do  so  many  Christians  do 
those  things?"  He  was  able  to  fulfill  his  desire,  for 
on  several  occasions  he  visited  their  settlements  for 
the  sake  of  preaching  to  them.  He  was  greatly 
respected  by  them  and  a  number  of  them  united  with 
his  church  at  Albany.    He  also  interested  himself  in 


364  Great  Missionaries  of 

them  afterwards  while  pastor  at  New  Amsterdam 
(New  York),  and  a  number  of  them  united  with 
his  church  there. 

Thus  was  he  the  first  Protestant  missionary  in 
North  America  and  the  first  to  the  Indians.  Of  his 
later  Hfe  time  fails  to  speak.  Nor  is  it  necessary,  for 
we  are  especially  interested  in  him  as  a  missionary. 
At  the  end  of  his  six  years'  engagement  by  the  pa- 
troon,  he  started  to  go  back  to  Holland.  But  Peter 
Stuyvesant,  the  governor  of  the  colony,  prevailed 
on  him  to  stay,  as  the  only  other  minister  in  the  col- 
ony had  just  gone  back  to  Europe.  He  therefore 
remained,  and  died  at  New  Amsterdam  in  1670, 
having  been  one  of  the  most  trusted  consellors  of 
the  governor. 

A  half  century  passed  away  and  these  Indian 
tribes  returned  the  kindness  to  the  Reformed.  In 
1708,  when  the  Reformed  of  the  Palatinate  had  fled 
to  London  by  the  thousands,  and  were  encamped 
there  at  Black  Heath,  where  they  lived  in  tents 
loaned  by  the  British  government,  it  happened  that 
at  that  time  some  Mohawk  chiefs  had  been  taken  to 
England,  so  that  they  might  be  impressed  with  the 
greatness  and  glory  of  the  English  kingdom  and  its 
ruler,  Queen  Ann.    In  being  shown  the  sights  of  the 


The  Reformed  Church.  365 

city,  they  were  taken  to  see  these  Palatines.  The 
hearts  of  these  Indians  were  so  moved  by  the  pitiful 
tale  of  the  poor  Palatines  that  they  offered  them  land 
in  their  Mohawk  Valley.  Indeed  it  is  said  that  they 
gave  them  a  title  to  land  there.  These  colonists  after- 
ward settled  on  the  land  so  kindly  given  by  the  In- 
dians. Thus  in  the  providence  of  God  the  Indians  by 
their  kindness  returned  the  kindness  of  the  Re- 
formed. This  was  the  first  effort  of  the  Reformed  to 
do  missionary  work  in  North  America.  It  started  the 
great  movement  of  saving  the  Indians  by  missionary 
work  which  John  Eliot  followed  with  his  grand 
labors.  But  the  missionary  societies  of  this  century 
have  capped  the  climax,  as  hundreds  of  Christian 
laborers  are  at  work  among  the  Indians,  and  the 
Christian  converts  number  many  thousands. 


Chapter  II. 

GEORGE  M.  WEISS. 
Rev.  George  M.  Weiss,  one  of  the  earliest 
ministers  of  our  Church,  and  the  organizer  of 
the  First  Reformed  Church  of  Philadelphia,  like 
Megapolensis,  showed  interest  in  the  poor  In- 
dians, but,  being  unsupported  by  any  Society,  he 
was  not  able  to  do  much.  In  his  writings,  however, 
he  showed  repeatedly  his  interest  in  their  salvation. 
Thus  the  first  report  ever  published  of  the  condition 
of  the  German  Reformed  in  Pennsylvania  (1731), 
was  a  report  which  was  made  to  the  Dutch  Synod  of 
1730,  and  based  on  information  given  the  Synod  by 
Weiss,  who  had  recently  arrived  in  Holland  from 
Pennsylvania.  In  it  he  says :  "Above  all  things  a 
way  is  opened  to  make  known  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  heathen  who  as  yet  have  not  heard  of 
it.  A  ground  of  hope  is  observed  as  to  the  nature 
and  disposition  of  the  aborigines  of  the  land.  They 
are  upright  in  their  conduct,  faithful  in  their  word, 
and  particularly  friendly  to  the  Palatine  Germans. 
The  latter,  having  themselves  been  subjected  to 
oppression,  they  are  familiar  with  them  and 
friendly,  allowing  them  to  lodge  in  their  barns 
at   night,   finding   them   protection    from   the   cold 


368  Great  Missionaries  of 

and  rain  by  their  firesides,  granting  them  the 
privilege  of  sowing  their  grain  within  their 
boundaries,  thus  freeing  them  from  the  wild 
horses  which  otherwise  consume  the  grain.  The 
Palatines  in  this  way  have  gained  the  goodwill 
and  confidence  of  the  Indians,  so  that  they  can  travel 
freely  and  without  hinderance  throughout  the  whole 
land  and  be  conducted  and  escorted  by  Indians  and 
furnished  by  them  with  food,  and  if  payment  is  of- 
fered them  for  it  they  feel  hurt.  What  may  not  be 
hoped  for  when  a  regular  ministry  shall  be  insti- 
tuted among  them  and  the  gospel  preached  to  them.* 
Rev.  Mr.  Weiss,  after  having  been  pastor  of  the 
First  Reformed  Church  of  Philadelphia,  was  called 
to  New  York  State,  and,  after  doing  pastoral  work 
along  the  Hudson,  was  called  to  be  pastor  of  a  Ger- 
man Reformed  Church  on  the  borders,  up  the  Mo- 
hawk river,  at  Burnetsfield,  near  Herkimer,  N.  Y. 
That  was  a  new  trading  station  between  Oswego,  in 
the  northwest  and  Albany.  In  1723  the  Indians 
passed  through  there  in  fifty-seven  canoes,  loaded 
with  738  packs  of  beaver  and  deer  skins.    The  first 


*Rev.  Mr.  Schlatter  also  makes  an  appeal  for  the  Indian  Missions 
in  his  appeal  to  the  Dutch  and  German  Churches  in  1752,  referring 
especially  to  the  work  of  John  Eliot  among  the  Indians  and  his  won- 
derful success.  But  Schlatter  had  no  opportunity  to  do  work  among 
the'  Indians  directly  as  he  was  not  stationed  near  them. 


The  Reformed  Church.  369 

German  Palatines  settled  there  in  1723,  thirty  fam- 
ilies. The  centre  of  this  Burnetsfield  patent  was 
Fort  Herkimer,  which  was  located  south  of  the 
Mohawk,  just  opposite  where  the  Canada  Creek 
flows  into  the  Mohawk  from  the  north.  Near  this 
point  the  pious  Germans  built  a  school-house  of  logs 
as  a  place  of  worship.  This  log  school-house  was 
the  church  where  Weiss  preached  when  pastor  of 
this  church  in  the  wilderness.  His  most  prominent 
parishioner  was  the  father  of  General  Nicolas  Herk- 
imer, and  the  General  when  a  young  man  was  an 
attendant.  Weiss  was  pastor  there  from  1736  to 
1742.  On  May  10,  1741,  he  writes  to  the  Classis  of 
Amsterdam  in  Holland,  saying  that  he  will  give  to 
them  a  faithful  description  of  the  Indian  in  North 
America,  which  he  had  composed  from  his  own  ex- 
perience with  them  and  also  a  painting  of  an  Indian 
man  and  woman,  so  as  to  give  them  a  better  idea  of 
the  Indians.  On  July  4,  1741,  he  wrote  another 
letter,  saying:  "I  take  the  liberty  to  report  to  you, 
in  the  most  obedient  manner,  that  I  have  had  suf- 
ficient opportunity  to  observe  the  ways  of  the  In- 
dians, also  that  I  have,  as  much  as  I  could,  inter- 
ested myself  in  them.  And,  since  the  Indian  lan- 
guage is  unknown  to  me,  I  have  employed  an  inter- 


370  Great  Missionaries  of 

preter  on  several  occasions  and  caused  the  most  es- 
sential parts  of  our  Christian  religion  to  be  spoken 
to  them  and  have  in  consequence  baptized  several  of 
them  at  their  own  desire.  It  is  to  be  wondered  at 
that  in  this  country  people  do  not  insist  on  the  con- 
version of  the  Indians.  I  know  of  only  one  English 
preacher  who  has  interested  himself  to  a  partial  de- 
gree in  the  Indians  and  urges  their  conversion  with 
all  earnestness.  (The  most  of  the  Indians  are  al- 
lowed to  run  along  without  instruction,  like  ani- 
mals.) The  French  of  Canada  are  of  quite  a  differ- 
ent feeling  and  erect  churches  and  schoolhouses  for 
their  conversion.  They  thus  win  the  affection  of 
the  Indian,  which  serves  as  a  means  in  time  of  war 
of  doing  great  injury  to  the  English,  From  this 
much  difficulty  is  to  be  apprehended  at  the  present 
time." 

The  Classis  of  Amsterdam  states  at  its  meeting 
of  September  lo,  1742,  that  it  had  received  the 
package  containing  Weiss'  book  and  paintings.  And 
they  give  in  their  minutes  the  name  of  his  work  in 
full,  "A  description  of  the  Wild  Men  in  North 
America,  as  to  their  persons,  properties,  nations, 
languages,  names,  houses,  dress,  household  imple- 
ments, housekeeping,  hunting,  fishing,  fighting,  su- 


The  Reformed  Church.  371 

perstitions,  political  government,  besides  other  re- 
markable matters  composed  from  personal  exper- 
ience by  George  Michael  Weiss,  V.  D.  M.  It  con- 
tained ninety-six  pages,  with  a  preface,  and  was 
signed  by  him  at  Burnsetfield  October  4,  1741.  He 
later  returned  to  Pennsylvania  and  was  not  able  to 
continue  his  work  among  the  Indians. 

25 


Chapter  III. 
THE  MISSION  TO  THE  WINNEBAGOES. 

The  Sheboygan  Classis  of  the  Synod  of  the 
Northwest  has  for  years  been  carrying  on  a  mis- 
sion among  the  Winnebagoes  of  the  State  of  Wis- 
consin. This  tribe  had  been  placed  by  the  United 
States  Government  on  a  reservation  in  Nebraska. 
But,  becoming  dissatisfied,  they  returned  without 
the  Government's  permission,  to  their  old  home  and 
they  settled  at  Battle  Creek  Falls,  Wis.  As  a  result 
they  became  extremely  poor.  The  Government^  be- 
cause of  their  disobedience,  deprived  them  of  am- 
munition. As  they  were  dependent  on  game,  this 
reduced  them  to  such  poverty  that  some  of  them  had 
to  subsist  on  roots,  while  others  begged  of  the 
whites,  a  few  being  able  to  find  work  at  saw-mills. 
When  they  were  in  this  condition,  they  were  visited 
by  Rev.  Jacob  Hauser,  one  of  the  German  minis- 
ters. He  had  visited  the  Oneidas,  but  found  they 
had  a  Protestant  missionary,  and  also  the  Menomo- 
nees,  who  had  a  Catholic  priest,  but  when  he  came 
to  the  Winnebagoes,  he  found  they  had  neither. 

In  the  cabin  of  Black  Hawk  a  council  was  held,  at 
which,  beside   Black  Hawk  and  Winnoshick,  who 


374  Great  Missionaries  of 

were  chiefs,  twelve  others  were  present.  The  for- 
mer said,  through  an  interpreter,  that  the  Indians 
desired  a  school  and  would  be  glad  for  a  missionary 
to  teach  them  the  word  of  the  Great  Spirit.  So  the 
Sheboygan  Classis  appointed  a  Committee  on  this 
Mission,  and  Rev.  Jacob  Hauser  was  chosen  as  the 
missionary.  On  December  30,  1878,  he  established 
the  mission  by  opening  a  day  school.  It  was  held 
in  an  old  log  hut  built  by  the  Indians  long  before 
any  missionaries  were  sent  to  them.  There  the  in- 
terpreter, a  half  breed,  had  taught  school,  but  had 
been  compelled  to  give  it  up  on  account  of  lack  of 
funds.  The  missionary  at  first  lived  at  Black  River 
Falls  and  walked  four  miles  four  days  a  week  in 
order  to  teach  them.  A  year  after  Black  Hawk  took 
pity  on  him  and  loaned  him  a  pony,  so  that  he  could 
ride.  He  preached  his  first  sermon  to  the  Indians 
January  5,  1879.  His  text  was  John  i  :29,  "Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world."  He  preached  it  in  English  and  it  was  inter- 
preted by  the  interpreter.  But,  after  preaching  thus 
for  some  time  through  an  interpreter,  he  gave  it  up, 
especially  as  the  interpreter  demanded  too  much 
money,  and  because  he  discovered,  as  he  was  now 
rapidly  learning  the  language,  that  the  interpreter, 


The  Reformed  Church.  375 

who  was  a  Catholic,  was  putting  the  CathoHc  inter- 
interpretation  on  some  doctrines.  So  he  concluded 
to  stop  preaching  until  he  was  able  to  preach  himself 
in  their  language.  Still  this  was  a  difficult  task,  as 
the  language  had  to  be  learned  by  hearing,  having 
never  been  written.  He,  therefore,  limited  himself 
to  the  study  of  the  language,  to  teaching  and  visit- 
ing the  Indians  in  their  homes.  In  1880  a  dwelling 
house  was  erected  in  the  mission  by  the  missionary 
committee,  the  county  donating  the  ground.  As  the 
old  schoolhouse  was  now  so  dilapidated  as  to  be  an 
insufficient  protection  against  rain  and  cold,  a  chapel 
was  built  two  years  later,  which  could  also  be  used 
for  a  school  house.  About  that  time  Congress 
again  granted  these  Indians  their  annuities  and  they 
had  frame  houses  erected  for  themselves.  Before  that 
they  had  lived  in  wigwams.  Now  some  live  in  wig- 
wams and  some  in  houses.  Of  the  forty  acres  be- 
longing to  the  mission,  seven  are  cleared  and  culti- 
vated, so  that  the  Indians  may  be  encouraged  to  go 
into  farming,  and  thus  support  themselves. 

In  1884  Rev.  Mr.  Hauser  resigned  and  Rev.  J. 
Stucki,  who  had  been  his  assistant,  was  chosen  as 
his  successor.  For  fifteen  years  he  labored  without 
any  conversions.    During  that  time  church  services 


376  Great  Missionaries  of 

were  regularly  held  and  attended  by  the  Indians* 
The  school  was  regularly  taught,  and  finally  thq 
good  seed  brought  forth  fruit, — John  Stacy  was 
baptized  (1898)  and  became  assistant  to  Mr.  Stucki, 
On  May  21,  Mr.  Stucki  baptized  George  Low,  his 
wife  and  five  children.  Five  days  later  one  of  the 
girls  of  the  family,  a  consumptive,  died,  and  was 
laid  to  rest.  The  poor  family  were  not  only  bowed 
by  grief,  but  despised  by  their  relatives.  The  child 
had  scarcely  been  buried  before  the  grandmother 
began  to  wail  and  mourn  that  the  father  was  to 
blame  for  her  death,  which  was  caused  by  his  be- 
coming a  Christian.  This  George  Low  had  been  a 
medicine  man  of  the  tribe  and  his  conversion  caused 
a  sensation.  It  was  his  child's  sickness  that  finally 
brought  him  to  a  decision,  although  his  wife  had 
been  wanting  to  become  a  Christian  for  some  time. 
There  are  now  six  communicants,  in  all  there  being 
fifteen  baptized.  The  outlook  is  not  very  hopeful 
at  present,  as  the  Government  school  has  been  at- 
tracting the  children  from  the  Mission  school, 
which  had  at  one  time  ninety-three  pupils. 


jjf  f*r^< 


Chapter  IV. 

THE  INDIAN   MISSION   IN  OKLAHOMA. 

This  has  been  the  work  of  the  gradual  leadings  of 
God's  Providence.  In  1895  Rev.  Frank  H.  Wright 
first  visited  the  Apache  Indians  of  this  territory. 
This  tribe,  after  rebelling  in  1885  under  Geronimo, 
finally  surrendered  (1887)  to  General  Miles.  They 
were  first  located  at  Fort  Sill  in  1894  in  twelve  small 
villages,  numbering  about  260.  For  five  years  the 
children  were  sent  to  the  Catholic  boarding  school 
Anadarko.  The  young  men  and  women  who  de- 
sired an  education  were  sent  East,  but  on  their  re- 
turn they  fell  back  to  their  old  life,  as  they  had  no 
one  to  help  them  to  better  ways.  Rev.  Mr.  Wright 
tried  to  aid  them,  but  at  first  failed  to  get  the  gov- 
ernment to  do  so.  The  Government,  however,  in 
1895  gave  the  land  for  the  erection  of  a  church  and 
other  necessary  buildings  and  the  Colombian  Me- 
morial Church  was  dedicated  November  15,  1896, 
the  congregation  being  organized  that  day  with  22 
members  and  the  Sunday-school  beginning  with 
over  100. 

In   1899  t^*^  Dutch   Reformed  Church  formally 

377 


378  Great  Missionaries  of 

organized  the  work  under  its  Home  Mission  Board 
At  Fort  Sill  it  has  a  school  of  thirty-three  children, 
and  fifty-nine  of  the  Indians  have  been  received  into 
the  church,  the  Sunday-school  having  an  average 
attendance  of  fifty.  One  class  is  composed  of  the 
Comanche  Indians  and  is  taught  by  Tocsi,  a  girl  of 
the  school,  who  interprets  to  them.  Besides  Mr. 
Wright,  there  are  four  lady  teachers.  An  orphanage 
was  opened  at  Fort  Sill  October  22,  1902,  with  six- 
teen children,  of  whom  two  were  Comanches,  the 
rest  being  Apaches. 

At  Colony  Rev.  Walter  C.  Roe  and  Mrs.  Roe  are 
missionaries  and  Miss  Jensen  matron  of  the  Mohonk 
Lodge,  who  labor  among  the  125  children  in  the 
Government  school,  who  had  received  no  religious 
instruction  until  this  mission  was  established.  These 
Indians  are  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes.  Mohonk 
Lodge  is  a  shelter  for  the  sick.  Twenty-seven  In- 
dians here,  including  two  chiefs,  have  become  Chris- 
tians and  119  have  been  received  into  membership. 
There  are  130  in  the  Sunday-school. 

This  work  among  the  Indians  led  to  work  among 
the  whites,  because  they  were  so  destitute  of  re- 
ligious privileges.  In  1900  four  theological  stu- 
dents went  to  Oklahoma  to  do  mission  work.    They 


The  Reformed  Church.  379 

lived  in  tents,  travelling  in  w^agons,  holding  ser- 
vices by  singing  and  preaching  the  gospel.  This 
movement  became  so  important  that  they  agreed  to 
return  the  second  summer.  There  are  now  four  or- 
ganized churches  for  the  whites — at  Liberty,  Cor- 
dell,  Harrison,  and  Arapahoe,  and  six  commissioned 
missionaries. 


L 


BOOK   VI. 


THE    REFORMED  AMONG  THE  JEWS. 

Chapter  I, 

The  Wonderful  Mission  at  Buda-Pesth. 
my|   ISSIONARY  work  among  the  Jews  has  been 
g,_i      lamentably    neglected    by    the    Christian 
^^9     Church.     Yet   to   the    Jews  we   owe   our 
Saviour,  and  one  of  the  signs  of  our  Lord's  return  to 
earth  is  the  conversion  of  the  Jews.    The  Reformed 
Church  has  shared  with  other  denominations  in  this 
neglect.    And  yet  she  has  not  been  entirely  forgetful 
of  her  duty — indeed  she  has  done  more  than  has 
generally  been  supposed.     She  has  repeatedly  been 
an    important  link    in  some  of  the    most  important 
movements  to  save  the  Jews.    In  this  article  we  pro- 
pose to  give  an  interesting  chapter  of  this. 

In  1838  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  sent 
a  committee  of  ministers  to  Palestine  to  inquire  into 
starting  a  mission  there  among  the  Jews.  They 
did  not  know,  what  missionaries  now  know,  that 
there  is  no  harder  mission  field  in  the  world  than 
Palestine.  A  providence  turned  their  attention  to  a 
much  more  promising  district  in  Hungary,  where 
there  are  many  Jews.  Small  events  make  great 
providences.     One  of  the  Scotch  committee,  Rev. 

3«3 


384  Great  Missionaries  of 

Dr.  Black,  fell  off  his  camel.  Rev.  Dr.  Bonar  after- 
wards jocosely  asked  Rev.  Dr.  Guthrie,  who  was 
one  of  the  committee :  "What  kind  of  an  impres- 
sion did  Dr.  Black  make  on  the  sand  when  he  fell?" 
As  to  his  mark  on  the  sand  we  know  nothing,  but 
that  fall  left  its  impression  on  distant  Hungary  in  a 
wonderful  movement  among  the  Jews.  For  the 
effect  of  that  fall  proved  so  serious  to  Dr.  Black 
that  the  Scotch  committee  returned  home.  On  their 
way  they  stopped  at  Pesth,  the  capital  of  Hungary, 
where  one  of  them.  Rev.  Dr.  Keith,  was  taken  so 
sick  that  it  was  thought  he  would  die. 

And  now  appears  another  strange  coincidence  of 
providence.  The  first  providence  had  beer  the  fall 
from  a  camel,  the  second  was  the  waking  dream  of 
a  woman,  like  Pilate's  wife.  The  wife  of  the 
Viceroy  of  Hungary  happened  at  that  time  to  be  a 
Protestant,  although  he  was  a  Catholic.  The  death 
of  her  dear  son  had  led  her  to  the  Bible,  and  "in 
the  Bible  she  met  with  Jesus."  She  then  became 
deeply  anxious  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  her  land. 
She  felt  in  that  Catholic  land  as  if  she  were  alone  as 
a  witness  for  God — "a  sp?.rrow  on  the  housetop." 
From  her  palace  she  looked  down  on  the  city  of 
Pesth  below  her,  with  its   100,000  population,  and 


The  Reformed  Church.  385 

for  seven  years  she  prayed,  sometimes  in  an  agony 
of  the  spirit.  Strange  to  say,  for  two  weeks  before 
Dr.  Keith  arrived,  she  invariably  awoke  every  night 
(except  once)  at  midnight,  with  the  strong  convic- 
tion that  something  was  about  to  happen  to  her. 
Then  she  heard  that  a  Protestant  minister  was  dying 
at  a  hotel  in  Pesth.  "This  is  what  was  to  happen 
to  me,"  she  said.  She  sought  him  out  and  min- 
istered to  him  as  tenderly,  as  if  he  belonged  to  her 
own  family.  He  finally  recovered,  and  during  his 
convalescence  she  made  known  to  him  the  condition 
of  the  many  Jews  in  her  land.  She  begged  him  to 
get  his  Church  to  send  a  missionary  to  them,  and 
gave  her  promise  that  she  would  protect  the  mission 
to  the  extent  of  her  power.  So  the  Scotch  Presby- 
terian Church,  in  1841,  sent  Rev.  Dr.  Duncan,  a 
learned  minister,  and  later  Professor  of  Hebrew,  as 
its  first  missionary  to  Pesth.  This  mission  has  had 
a  wonderful  history.  It  has  led  to  prominent  con- 
versions, as  Saphir  (the  elder)  and  Lichtenstein.  It 
brought  to  Christ  some  who  afterwards  became 
prominent,  as  Edersheim.  It  has  had  a  wonderful 
effect  on  the  old  Reformed  Church  of  Hungary  in 
strengthening  the  evangelical  party  in  that  Church. 
Soon  after  the  mission  was  opened,  it  was  noticed 


386  Great  Missionaries  of 

that  Adolph  Saphir,  the  most  learned  Jew  in  Hun- 
gary, a  bosom  friend  of  the  chief  rabbi,  and  a  man 
of  undoubted  integrity — a  modern  Gamahel — was 
attending  the  service.  He  came  in  order  to  learn 
English,  but  soon  he  learned  something  better — 
Jesus  Christ.  With  him  and  led  by  him  came  his 
little  son  Adolph,  an  exceedingly  precocious  boy  of 
about  eleven  years  of  age.  One  day,  after  they  to- 
gether had  attended  the  service  for  some  time, 
young  Adolph,  who  had  become  seriously  impressed 
by  Christianity,  asked  permission  to  be  allowed  to 
say  grace  at  the  meal.  Great  was  the  consternation 
in  the  family  and  in  the  Jewish  settlement,  when  he 
oflfered  the  prayer  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Nor  did  he 
stop  there.  He  was  soon  explaining  the  Scriptures 
in  the  Jewish  quarter.  Before  another  year  had 
passed,  he  had  publicly  professed  Christ,  and  was 
followed  by  his  father.  The  conversion  of  so  promi- 
nent a  man  as  the  father  could  not  fail  to  make  an 
impression.  The  Jews  became  very  angry  and  com- 
pelled him  to  resign  as  director  of  the  Jewish  Semi- 
nary, and  expelled  him  from  the  synagogue.  His 
high  character  silenced  many  opponents,  but  still  he 
suffered  much  persecution.  Very  soon  after,  the 
mother  was  convinced  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah, 


The  Reformed  Church.  387 

although  she  was  perplexed  for  a  while  by  fear  of 
temporal  losses  if  she  became  a  Christian.  The 
father  delayed  baptism  quite  a  while  after  he  found 
Christ,  waiting  and  hoping  that  his  whole  family 
would  follow  him  into  the  Church. 

Finally  they  were  ready  to  unite  with  the  Church, 
but  how  could  it  be  done  ?  They  were  converted  by 
the  Presbyterian  missionaries,  but  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  not  recognized  by  the  laws  of  Hungary, 
and  no  one  could  join  it.  What  was  to  be  done? 
Then  it  was  that  the  Reformed  Church  stood  in  the 
breach,  and  opened  the  way  by  which  some  of  the 
most  prominent  men  were  received  from  Judaism 
into  Christianity.  For  the  Hungarian  Reformed 
Church  was  recognized  by  law.  It  numbers  now  two 
millions,  but  it  has  been  hampered  by  the  oppressing 
influences  of  Romanism,  and  in  some  parts  honey- 
combed by  the  blighting  influences  of  Rationalism. 
But  it  had  as  one  of  its  superintendents  and  pastors 
Rev.  Paul  Torok,  who  was  evangelical  and  a  very 
warm  friend  of  the  missionary  work  among  the 
Jews.  The  Presbyterian  missionaries  felt  in  very 
close  and  warm  sympathy  with  the  Reformed,  and 
so,  when  their  converts  could  not  legally  join  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  they  urged  them  to  join  the 

26 


388  Great  Missionaries  of 

Reformed.  Rev.  Mr.  Torok  gladly  agreed  to  this. 
On  April  4th  he  baptized  Philip  Saphir,  young 
Adolph's  brother,  and  on  June  7,  1843,  ^^ 
baptized  the  Saphir  family,  father,  mother,  son 
(Adolph),  and  three  daughters,  in  the  Re- 
formed church  at  Pesth.  Before  the  bap- 
tism the  father  delivered  an  address,  in  which  he 
described  his  conversion  through  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  Christ.  He  bore  his  testimony  to  the  change  that 
had  been  effected  in  his  wife  and  children, 
such  a  testimony  as  had  not  been  borne  in  Pesth 
since  the  Reformation.  The  large  Reformed 
church  contained  an  attentive  audience,  and 
many,  both  Jews  and  Christians,  were  moved 
to  tears  by  the  address.  Then,  when  the  family  were 
baptized  by  Rev.  Mr.  Torok,  a  holy  awe  fell  on  the 
assembly. 

The  Reformed  Qiurch  continued  for  a  long  time 
to  be  the  nurse  and  protector  of  this  mission  to  the 
Jews.  Many  were  the  Jews  baptized  in  her,  for 
within  a  year  thirty-five  Jews  were  baptized  there. 
And  for  her  fostering  care  she  has  been  richly  re- 
paid. The  influence  of  this  mission  was  rapidly  felt 
in  this  church.  The  evangelical  party  in  it  rapidly  in- 
creased.    In  helping  to  save  the  Jews,  they  saved 


The  Reformed  Church.  389 

themselves.  Among  the  many  notable  converts  from 
Judaism  who  were  baptized  by  Pastor  Torok,  there 
were  three  to  whom  we  will  especially  refer.  The 
first  is  the  little  boy  Adolph  Saphir.  He  soon  be- 
came a  boy  missionary — a  fit  example  for  every  Re- 
formed boy.  Soon  after  his  conversion  he  visited  a 
Jewess,  who  was  a  neighbor.  He  spoke  to  her  about 
her  soul.  He  told  her  how  happy  his  father's  family 
was  in  having  accepted  Jesus.  And  then  he  finished 
his  conversation  by  kneeling  in  prayer  for  her.  It 
was  felt  that  young  Adolph  was  fitted  to  become  an 
evangelist.  And  although  his  father  looked  on  him 
as  his  Benjamin — the  pet  son  of  his  old  age,  yet  he 
willingly  gave  him  up  in  early  boyhood  to  be  trained 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  was,  therefore, 
sent  in  the  autumn  of  1843  to  Edinburgh.  The  next 
year  he  went  to  Berlin,  where  he  lived  with  his 
brother-in-law.  Rev.  Charles  Schwartz,  who  was  a 
missionary  to  the  Jews.  In  1848  he  returned  to 
Scotland,  where  he  completed  his  education,  and 
was  ordained  at  Belfast  in  1854  as  a  missionary  to 
the  Jews.  He  began  his  work  at  Hamburg,  but  after 
laboring  among  the  Jews  there  for  a  year,  he  re- 
signed, because  he  disagreed  with  the  society  who 
employied  him  as  to  the  method  of  work.  He  returned 


390  Great  Missionaries  of 

to  Scotland,  preached  to  the  Germans  at  Glasgow, 
and  then  became  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  South  Shields,  Greenwich,  and  afterward  at  Lon- 
don, where,  after  a  useful  and  successful  ministry, 
he  died  1891.  He  was  a  prince  of  preachers,  a  mod- 
ern Apollos,  mighty  in  the  Scriptures.  His  books, 
among  them  "The  Divine  Unity  of  Scripture,"  re- 
veal his  depth  of  thought  and  range  of  learning. 

A  convert  better  known  to  us  in  America  was  Al- 
fred Edersheim.  He  was  attending  the  University 
of  Pesth  in  1847.  He  had  been  reared  luxuriantly 
in  Vienna,  and  was  a  leader  of  fashion.  He  was 
highly  educated,  speaking  seven  languages.  When 
the  head  of  the  bar  of  France,  Cremeaux,  visited  Vi- 
enna, the  synagogue  presented  him  with  an  address, 
and  young  Edersheim  was  appointed  to  deliver  it. 
Cremeaux  was  so  pleased  with  his  eloquence  that 
he  offered  his  father  to  take  the  son  to  Paris  and 
provide  for  him,  but  his  parents  would  not  consent. 
While  Alfred  was  at  Pesth,  his  tutor,  who  spoke 
English,  introduced  him  to  the  Presbyterian  mission- 
aries. And  when  the  tutor  left  for  a  six  months' 
course  in  an  Italian  university,  what  did  he  do  but 
bring  Alfred  to  Mr.  Wingate,  one  of  the  mission- 
aries, saying:     "I  give  you  charge  of  Alfred,  take 


The  Reformed  Church.  391 

care  of  him."  "How  can  you,  a  Jew,"  said  Mr. 
Wingate,  "give  your  pupil  to  me  ?  You  know  I  can 
only  pray  that  he  may  become  a  true  Christian." 
"Never  mind,"  was  the  reply,  "I  know  no  one  who 
will  so  conscientiously  care  for  him."  Before  the 
six  months  were  over,  young  Edersheim,  under  the 
influence  of  the  missionaries,  had  come  under  con- 
viction by  the  Holy  Spirit  and  was  led  to  see  the 
divinity  of  Christ.  He  believed  on  Christ  as  his 
sacrifice  for  sin.  He  at  once  opened  a  class  to  teach 
English  to  the  Jews,  on  the  condition,  however,  that 
the  Bible  should  be  the  text  book.  He  was  baptized 
in  the  Reformed  Church  of  Pesth.  Dr.  Duncan 
says  of  him  and  of  his  companion  convert  Tomory 
that  in  the  freshness  of  their  first  love  to  Christ,  they 
used  to  read  day  after  day  the  epistles  of  Paul,  as  if 
they  had  been  letters  that  had  come  by  that  morn- 
ing's mail.  Edersheim  went  to  Edinburgh  to  com- 
plete his  theological  studies.  He  then  became  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  Jews  in  Roumania,  and  then  pastor  at 
Aberdeen,  Scotland.  His  health  failing,  he  went  to 
Torquay.  He  went  to  the  best  hotel,  but  finding  it 
beyond  his  means,  he  called  the  landlord  and  asked 
for  his  bill.  The  landlord,  who  was  an  earnest 
Christian,  told  him  to  leave  that  with  him.   .Mean- 


392  Great  Missionaries  of 

while  it  became  known  that  he  was  at  the  hotel,  and 
a  deputation  came  and  asked  that  he  might  preach 
in  a  room  in  the  hotel.  Here  a  beautiful  church  was 
built  for  him,  and  his  ministry  was  blessed  to  the 
salvation  of  many.  He  then  entered  the  Episcopa- 
lian Church  of  England,  where  his  fame  as  a 
preacher  gave  him  signal  opportunities.  He  was 
probably  the  only  Hebrew-Christian  clergyman  ever 
invited  by  Dean  Stanley  to  preach  in  Westminster 
Abbey.  He  died  in  1889.  It  was  his  "Life  of  Jesus 
the  Messiah"  that  has  made  him  famous — the  most 
scholarly  life  of  Christ  that  has  yet  appeared  by  an 
English  writer.  And  yet,  with  all  its  scholarship,  it 
is  filled  with  peculiar  unction.  A  Jew  himself,  he 
threw  all  the  intensity  of  his  nature  and  race  into  it, 
as  a  tribute  from  a  Jew  to  the  Jew  of  Nazareth.  In 
it  with  a  master  hand  he  depicts  Jesus  as  the  divine 
Jew  and  the  Saviour  of  mankind. 

Less  well  known,  but  more  tenderly  interesting, 
was  the  life  of  Philip,  Adolph  Saphir's  brother.  His 
was  one  of  the  most  saintly  young  lives  that  the 
Reformed  Church  has  ever  revealed.  Philip  was 
older  than  Adolph  and  had  tasted  the  sinful  pleas- 
ures of  a  wild  and  careless  life  before  Christianity 
came  to  him.    He,  however,  tried  through  the  power 


The  Reformed  Church.  393 

of  dead,  formal  Judaism  to  reform,  but  he  felt  that 
his  religion  was  hypocritical.  In  1842  Rev.  C. 
Schwartz  visited  Pesth  and  preached  to  the  Jews 
with  great  impressiveness.  Among  his  listeners  was 
Phillip,  then  19  years  of  age.  He  was  deeply  im- 
pressed and  became  a  changed  young  man.  On 
Tuesday,  April  4,  1843,  he  was  baptized  by  Pastor 
Torok  in  the  Pesth  Reformed  Church.  He  was  the 
first  of  the  converts  to  be  baptized,  as  he  was  going 
away  to  school,  and  his  baptism  was  desired  before 
his  departure.  His  father  and  brother  Adolph  had 
already  become  Christians,  but  the  father,  as  we 
have  seen,  delayed  baptism,  hoping  to  bring  his 
whole  family  with  him  into  the  Church.  So  Philip 
was  baptized  alone,  and  two  days  after  he  wrote  to 
Rev.  Mr.  Schwartz:  "Tuesday  was  the  most  im- 
portant day  of  my  life.  I  was  admitted  into  the 
Church  of  Christ.  I  can  not  describe  my  feel- 
ings to  you.  Ah,  the  infinite  love  of  God !  He  has 
given  me  much  peace.  Nothing  will  deprive  me  of 
it.  I  praise  Christ  every  hour.  I  regard  my  life 
only  as  a  single  point,  and  have  death  continually  in 
view ;  therefore  I  lay  myself  into  Christ's  arms  every 
evening,  so  that  if  it  should  be  my  last  sleep,  I  may 
fall  asleep  in  the  Lord."     Such  consecration  was 


394  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  key  to  his  Hfe.  He  went  to  Carlsruhe  in  Ger- 
many to  be  trained  as  a  teacher,  but  became  sick  and 
returned  to  Pesth  two  years  later.  But  in  spite  of 
his  sickness,  he  would  not  cease  laboring  for  Christ. 
He  organized  what  might  be  called  a  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  This  prospered  greatly,  held 
Bible  meetings  Sundays  and  Thursdays,  and  raised 
during  the  first  year  one  hundred  dollars.  He  also 
began  gathering  the  children  around  his  sickbed, 
for  he  could  not  be  idle.  First  one  boy  came,  and  in 
fourteen  days  the  number  increased  to  twenty-three, 
most  of  them  Jews.  His  school  became  so  large 
that  he  had  to  seek  for  larger  quarters.  Though 
sick,  he  performed  a  herculean  task.  His  school 
grew  until  it  had  fifty  children,  most  of  them  Jews. 
He  taught  them  Christ.  The  Jews  roused  opposi- 
tion against  him  and  took  their  children  away,  but 
the  children  persisted  in  coming.  And  when  a  Jew 
told  one  of  the  little  girls  that  Jesus  was  not  God, 
she  began  to  cry  and  accused  him  to  her  mother  as 
an  unbeliever.  In  1847  ^^  was  compelled  to  go  to 
Pressburg  for  his  health,  but  there  he  preachea 
Christ  to  the  Jews.  He  returned  to  Pesth  to  un- 
dergo a  terrible  operation  in  his  legs.  But  he  bore 
it  with  patience,  and  from  his  sickbed  still  kept  on 


The  Reformed  Church.  395 

teaching  the  boys,  until  his  school  had  grown  to  120 
children.  His  sufferings  increased,  yet  he  said  : 
"My  body  is  decaying,  but  my  inner  man  lives  and 
grows."  God  called  the  sufferer  home,  September 
2y,  1849.  His  life  had  been  a  wonderful  witness  for 
Christ  in  the  midst  of  pain.  And  though  dead,  his 
influence  remained.  The  school  he  founded  has  be- 
come, forty-six  years  after,  a  large  institute,  and  had 
a  few  years  ago  over  five  hundred  pupils. 

But  the  influence  of  these  Jewish  converts,  who 
joined  the  Reformed  Church  of  Pesth,  has  not  yet 
ended.  One  of  the  sisters  of  Philip  and  Adolph 
Saphir  married  Rev.  C.  H.  Shonberger.  He,  too, 
had  been  converted  at  Pesth  and  had  joined  the  Re- 
formed Church.  He  became  a  missionary  to  the 
Jews  at  Prague  in  1871.  One  of  his  converts  was 
Rev.  A.  Venetianer,  who  became  a  Reformed  min- 
ister. And  now  comes  the  strangest  coincidence, 
and  with  it  we  close  this  remarkable  story  of  the 
Reformed  and  the  Jews.  A  number  of  years  ago  a 
Jewish  rabbi  in  southern  Russia,  named  Rabbino- 
witz,  became  a  believer  in  Jesus,  and  startled  his 
synagogue  by  preaching  the  Gospel  of  "Brother 
Jesus."  His  synagogue  followed  him  into  Chris- 
tianity.    But  who  was  to  baptize  his  people  with 


396  Great  Missionaries  of 

Christian  baptism?  The  writer  remembers  about 
the  year  1884  seeing  an  advertisement  in  the  Re- 
formed Kirchenzeitung  of  Germany  by  the  Httle  Re- 
formed congregation  at  Rohrbach,  near  Odessa,  in 
Russia,  asking  for  a  pastor.  For  a  time  this  call 
from  this  distant  Reformed  Church  seemed  to  get 
no  response.  Then  in  the  providence  of  God  it  was 
accepted  by  the  Reformed  pastor  of  Trieste,  Aus- 
tria, Rev.  Mr.  Venetianer,  the  convert  of  Schon- 
berger.  And  now  notice  the  coincidence  of  provi- 
dence. Venetianer  went  there  as  pastor.  And  as  he 
was  a  Jewish  convert,  he  was  called  in  by  Rabbino- 
witz  to  baptize  in  his  congregation,  which  Vane- 
tianer  began  by  baptizing  the  first  convert  October 
2,  1887,  and  he  wrote  later  that  he  baptized  three 
children  of  Rabbinowitz.  What  will  be  the  future 
influence  of  that  Jewish  movement  in  southern  Rus- 
sia under  Rabbinowitz  no  one  can  measure,  but  it 
will  be  great.  Here  again  we  see  the  Reformed 
were  a  link  to  aid  the  Jews  into  the  Church.  And 
Pastor  Venetianer  was  doing  what  Pastor  Torc4c 
had  done  at  Pesth  many  years  before. 

Such  has  been  the  influence  of  the  work  among 
the  Jews  at  Pesth,  in  which  the  Reformed  Church 
was  active  in  aiding  the  Presbyterians.    It  brought 


The  Reformed  Church.  397 

very  prominent  Jews  into  the  Christian  Church,  as 
the  Saphirs  and  Edersheim.  It  led  to  the  founding 
of  a  most  successful  and  active  German  Reformed 
Church  at  Pesth,  now  numbering  more  than  1,500 
members.  It  has  led  to  a  revival  and  strengthening 
of  the  evangelical  party  in  the  Hungarian  Reformed 
Church  until  it  is  now  in  the  ascendency  in  that 
Church,  led  by  such  men  as  Professor  Balogh,  of  the 
University  of  Debrezin,  and  Professor  Szabo,  of  the 
University  at  Buda-Pesth. 


Chapter  II. 

FERDINAND  W.  BECKER. 

Another  witness  for  the  Reformed  Church  among 
the  Jews  was  Rev.  Ferdinand  WilHam  Becker,  "a 
hero  of  Jewish  work,"  as  his  biographer  calls  him. 
He  was  of  Reformed  birth,  having  been  born  in  the 
Reformed  county  of  Wittgenstein  in  Germany, 
March  27,  1797,  and  baptized  by  Rev.  J.  D.  Otter- 
bein,  of  the  Otterbein  family,  famous  in  the  Re- 
formed Church  of  Germany  in  the  Nineteenth  cen- 
tury. His  father  died  when  he  was  three  years  old, 
leaving  his  mother  with  six  small  children.  He  was 
often,  therefore,  in  needy  circumstances  and  when 
young  was  put  out  to  work  at  the  joiner's  bench 
and  behind  the  counter. 

In  1816  he  went  to  Elberfeld,  where  under  its 
earnest  religious  life  he  was  converted,  when  G.  D. 
Krummacher  (the  revival  Boanerges  of  the  Re- 
formed there),  and  Doring  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
had  brought  religion  to  a  high  state  of  activity.  It 
was  Doring's  question,  "Do  you  love  Jesus?"  that 
led  to  his  conversion  in  his  room  September  13, 
18 16.  He  at  once  showed  great  inclination  for  re- 
ligious work  and  as  Doring  thought  he  was  too  old 


400  Great  Missionaries  of 

to  begin  to  study  for  the  ministry  he  suggested  that 
he  become  a  missionary.  He  was  introduced  to  the 
Missionary  Society  at  Elberfeld  and  accepted  by 
them  June  2,  1817. 

On  June  20  of  that  year  he  entered  the  Mission 
House  of  Janicke  in  Berlin,  remaining  there  for 
three  years.  Then  he  went  to  England  to  continue 
his  studies.  At  Cambridge  he  came  under  the  in- 
fluence of  Joseph  Wolff,  the  famous  converted  Jew, 
and  missionary,  and  also  of  the  sainted  Rev,  Charles 
Simeon.  He  attended  the  newly-erected  seminary 
for  the  training  of  missionaries  to  the  Jews,  and 
completed  his  studies.  He  was  appointed  by  the 
London  Missionary  Society  for  the  Jews  a  mission- 
ary to  the  Jews  at  Warsaw,  Poland,  where  there 
were  forty  thousand  Jews. 

Together  with  a  young  Englishman,  McCaull,  he 
arrived  there  on  Christmas,  1821.  But  in  February, 
1822,  the  Russian  government  forced  him  to  leave 
Warsaw.  He  made  every  effort  to  be  allowed  to 
return,  even  to  going  to  St.  Petersburg  to  lay  the 
matter  before  the  Russian  court.  Meanwhile  he  re- 
turned to  England  and  received  ordination  and  then 
was  permitted  to  return  to  Warsaw. 

It  happened  that  there  was  a  small  Polish  Re- 


The  Reformed  Church.  401 

formed  congregation  there,  a  relic  of  the  work  of 
John  A'Lasco,  the  PoHsh  Reformer,  and  of  the 
time  when  most  of  Poland  had  been  Reformed  only 
to  be  destroyed  by  the  Jesuits  later.  Becker  and 
McCaull,  with  their  two  assistants,  used  the  little 
Reformed  church  for  the  worship  of  their  mission. 
They  were  very  fortunate  in  thus  finding  a  place  o^ 
w^orship.  He  began  his  work  with  great  earnest- 
ness, but  met  with  great  opposition. 

It  seemed  impossible  to  gain  at  first  any  converts. 
But  in  1828  he  baptized  a  Jew  named  Rosenfeld, 
who  became  a  very  zealous  evangelist,  bringing 
many  from  the  synagogue  to  the  church.  In  the 
same  year  a  prominent  Jewish  Rabbi  named 
Schwarzenberg  became  a  Christian  and  preached 
Christ  among  the  Jews,  often  in  great  danger  from 
their  fanaticism.  A  home  for  Jewish  converts  was 
founded,  together  with  a  printing  establishment  and 
bookbindery  connected  with  it,  where  they  could 
support  themselves  and  where  every  Saturday  a  con- 
ference in  the  German- Jewish  language  was  held 
with  the  Jews.  In  1828  two  schools  for  Jewish 
children  were  begun.  In  1830  McCaull  left  to  take 
charge  of  a  Jewish  Mission  in  London  and  Becker 
\V35  made  superintendent  of  the  mission  at  Warsaw. 


402  Great  Missionaries  of 

During  the  stormy  political  times  of  1831  and 
through  an  epidemic  of  cholera  he  safely  guided  the 
mission  work.  The  mission  work  was  greatly  inter- 
fered with,  but  soon  revived.  In  1833  he  baptized 
an  aged  Jew  named  Grafstein  for  whom  the  sponsor 
at  baptism  was  no  less  a  person  than  the  prominent 
citizen  Count  Paskiewitsch, 

In  1837  two  very  interesting  conversions  took 
place  of  two  young  men,  Henry  Israelski  and  Sig- 
mund  Hauptman,  who  were  students  at  the  Jewish 
School  for  Rabbis  there.  They  were,  with  most  of 
the  students,  unbelieving,  but  came  to  the  mission 
for  Bibles.  As  they  found  no  salvation  in  Judaism, 
they  threw  it  overboard  entirely  and  received  Chris- 
tian instruction.  They  were  soon  led  to  see  how 
Jesus  fulfilled  the  Old  Testament  to  the  salvation  of 
their  souls.  They  then  began  to  speak  of  Christian- 
ity among  their  fellow  students  in  the  Jewish  school. 
The  professors  prepared  to  force  them  out  of  the 
school.  Meanwhile  their  parents  began  to  oppress 
them.  But  they  were  finally  baptized  May  19,  1837. 
This  caused  a  great  sensation  and  great  suffering  to 
them.  Hauptman's  parents  and  some  of  the  Jewish 
teachers  of  the  Rabbi's  school  came  to  the  mission 
house.  .... 


The  Reformed  Church.  403 

Hauptman  was  compelled  to  go  home  with 
his  mother  and  Israelski,  with  the  teachers  where 
they  disputed  long  with  them.  Israelski,  after  being 
asked  whether  he  became  a  Christian  because  of 
worldly  inducements,  and  he  replied,  "No,"  was 
permitted  to  go,  and  went  to  the  house  of  a  friend 
of  the  mission.  The  next  day,  attended  by  some 
Jews  and  their  pupils,  his  father  came  to  town  to  the 
mission  to  claim  his  son.  They  preached  Christ  to 
the  father  and  some  of  the  scholars  took  Christian 
books,  but  the  father  refused  to  listen.  The  father 
then  went  to  the  house  where  the  son  was  staying. 
There  the  son  confessed  to  his  father  his  Christian 
belief.  He  wanted  his  son  to  go  into  the  street,  so 
that  he  might  converse  with  him  alone.  But  he  re- 
fused. Then  he  seized  his  son  by  the  throat  and  held 
him  so  tight  that  the  brethren  were  afraid  the  young 
man  would  be  choked,  but  they  got  him  loose  and 
talked  with  the  father.  As  the  father  was  inexorable, 
they  took  the  son  away  into  another  room.  The  fath- 
er became  so  wild  that  the  police  had  to  be  sent  for. 
Israelski  afterward  became  a  Christian  minister. 

In  1838  Becker  stated  in  a  sermon  preached  in  his 
native  city  of  Berleburg  that  in  sixteen  years  120 
Jews  had  been  converted.  On  Easter  Monday  (1842) 

27 


404  Great  Missionaries  of 

the  mission  had  the  great  joy  of  seeing  five  Jews  bap- 
tized, one  of  whom  underwent  great  persecutions. 
He  worked  for  his  brother  as  a  painter,  but  began 
coming  to  the  mission,  from  which  he  could  not 
stay  away  because  of  the  hold  the  truth  had  gained 
on  him.  He  determined,  therefore,  in  February  to 
leave  his  brothers'  house  and  come  to  the  mission. 
He  decided  to  do  this  on  a  Saturday  evening, 
when  he  could  get  away,  but  he  was  urged  to  wait, 
as  the  mission  house  was  full.  But  the  next  Satur- 
day, in  spite  of  the  watchfulness  of  his  brother,  he 
came  to  the  mission  house.  However  already  in  the 
afternoon  some  of  his  brothers  came  expecting  to  see 
him  at  the  public  service.  As  he  was  not  there,  they 
asked  the  missionaries  if  he  was  with  the  mission- 
aries. The  next  morning  his  mother  appeared  just 
at  the  hour  of  the  family  worship  of  the  mission 
house  and  demanded  her  son  with  the  greatest  vehe- 
mence. In  the  afternoon  other  members  of  the  fam- 
ily appeared.  On  Monday  a  severe  storm  broke  out. 
The  mother,  four  grown  up  brothers  and  a  sister 
appeared,  forced  themselves  into  the  mission  house 
and  especially  the  mother  demanded  to  speak  with 
the  son.  But  the  son  was  not  inclined  to  do  so, 
knowing  the  impetuous  nature  of  his  mother.  Their 


The  Reformed  Church.  405 

rage  then  knew  no  bounds.  The  sons,  especially 
one  that  was  dumb,  resorted  to  force.  The  coat  of 
the  missionary  was  torn  from  top  to  bottom.  The 
missionary  as  well  as  two  others  of  the  mission 
house,  who  ran  to  his  assistance  received  severe 
blows  on  the  breast  while  the  women  raised  a  terrible 
outcry  and  several  persons  tried  to  break  open  the 
door  of  the  young  man's  place  of  concealment.  The 
young  man  crept  away  into  the  room  of  the  mis- 
sionary's wife,  but  the  Jews  forced  themselves  to 
it.  Finally  police  help  having  been  called  the  tumult 
was  stilled.  This  caused  great  excitement  and  other 
Jews  came  which  only  gave  the  missionaries  addi- 
tional opportunities  to  preach  Christ  to  them.  To 
his  relatives  he  boldly  declared,  'T  seek  nothing  but 
Christianity."  He  then  confessed  Christ  at  baptism. 
On  the  mission  house  there  was  a  window  on 
which  there  were,  in  Hebrew,  the  words  of  Isaiah, 
fifty-fifth  chapter,  "Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth," 
etc.  The  Jews  passing  by  would  often  stop,  read  it, 
and  inquire  the  meaning  of  those  words  on  that 
house,  then  come  in  and  allow  themselves  to  be  ad- 
dressed by  the  missionary.  Often  there  would  be 
quite  a  gathering  of  them  in  the  street  before  this 
Scripture  sign  whom  the  missionary  would  address. 


4o6  Great  Missionaries  of 

In  1 84 1  Becker  celebrated  at  Elberfeld  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  his  ordination,  and  also  at  Lon- 
don where  he  addressed  various  religious  gather- 
ings. 

In  1855  the  mission  at  Warsaw  had  to  be  discon- 
tinued. On  December  22  all  the  missionaries  were 
required  to  bring  their  official  documents  before  the 
Lutheran  Ministerium  and  it  was  made  known  to 
them  that  it  was  the  Czar's  will  that  they  should 
leave.  This  came  like  a  thunderclap  and  was  the  re- 
sult of  the  Crimean  war,  where  England  had  joined 
her  forces  with  Turkey  and  France  against  Russia. 
But  it  was  not  supposed  that  the  Jewish  Mission  at 
Warsaw,  although  under  the  English  Society,  would 
be  endangered,  especially  as  Becker  was  a  German 
and  not  an  Englishman.  On  February  8,  1855, 
Becker  and  West,  the  two  missionaries,  were  com- 
pelled to  leave  Warsaw.  But  at  the  railroad  station 
people  of  all  classes,  Protestants,  Catholics,  Greeks, 
Jews,  proselytes,  gathered  in  their  honor  to  bid  a 
sad  farewell  to  them.  The  railroad  station  was  so 
crowded  that  it  was  hardly  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate the  throng.  This  mission  was  not  resumed 
by  the  Society  until  1876. 

Becker  then  proceeded  to  a  new  field  of  labor  at 


The  Reformed  Church.  407 

Hamburg.  Here  he  found  the  work  much  more  dif- 
ficult than  at  Warsaw.  In  the  French  Reformed 
church  there  he  began  holding  his  services  in  Ger- 
man July  I,  1855,  for  Jews  and  Christians.  He 
often  preached  in  the  German  and  English  Re- 
formed churches  in  Hamburg  and  Altona,  as  also  in 
the  Reformed  church  of  the  neighboring  city  of  Lu- 
beck.  His  work  was  much  more  scattered  than  in 
Poland,  stretching  out  into  the  neighboring  districts 
of  Mecklenburg,  etc.,  and  he  was  often  away  from 
home  by  the  week.  Yet  he  found  the  field  ripe  for 
harvest.  On  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  London 
Society  for  the  Jews,  1858,  he  returned  to  London, 
where  he  preached  the  festival  sermon.  In  it  he 
gives  the  statistics  of  the  work  in  Poland.  "Poland 
was  our  Palestine.  More  than  100  proselytes  were 
trained  in  the  mission  institute,  5,000  Polish  New 
Testaments  and  125,000  tracts  were  published,  and 
360  persons  were  converted  through  the  mission. 
So  that  his  work  there  was  not  fruitless. 

Later,  when  Rev.  Mr.  Harms,  pastor  at  Hermans- 
burg,  who  had  founded  a  famous  foreign  mission 
supported  by  his  congregation  alone,  attacked  mis- 
sions among  the  Jews  as  useless,  Becker  replied  in 
a.  ^pamphlet.     In  it  he  argued  strongly  from  Scrip- 


4o8  Great  Missionaries  of 

tures  on  the  importance  of  work  among  the  Jews. 
In  1856  he  preached  in  the  synagogue  at  Berleburg, 
his  birthplace,  on  Hosea  3  4,  5.  When  the  Jewish 
worship  had  ended  he  asked  permission  to  speak. 
In  it  he  claimed  that  this  chapter  had  been  darkened 
by  the  Rabbis  because  they  did  not  refer  it  to  a  Mes- 
siah. He  asked  his  countrymen  to  think  over  these 
things  and  to  believe  on  Christ.  Most  of  the  men  re- 
mained in  the  synagogue,  about  thirty,  and  many  wo- 
men. But  opposition  began  to  show  itself  there.  One 
said  that  the  synagogue  was  not  the  place  for  such 
exhortations.  So  he  left  the  synagogue  but  later  he 
heard  them  discussing  the  sermon  on  the  streets.  He 
took  advantage  of  it  to  scatter  tracts.  In  the  after- 
noon of  that  day  he  found  a  number  of  Jews  in  the 
Berleburg  park  and  spoke  to  them  on  Zechariah  3  :i4, 
and  soon  a  dozen  of  them  gathered  around  him. 
His  address  and  efforts  made  a  deep  impression  on 
some  of  their  minds. 

In  April,  1862,  he  caught  a  severe  cold  in  holding 
a  service  of  the  Jews  in  a  subterranean  clothes  depot. 
He  preached  for  the  last  time  June  3,  1862;  but, 
though  unable  to  preach  after  that,  he  still  labored 
among  them  as  he  could  in  his  house.  He  said :  "O 
if  I  could  only  each  day  say  to  some  Jew,  Christ 


The  Reformed  Church.  409 

stretches  out  his  arms  to  him."  But  soon  even  this 
was  forbidden  on  account  of  his  health.  At  Christ- 
mas time  his  sickness  greatly  increased  and  by  Jan- 
uary 5  his  sufferings  became  so  great  that  he  ear- 
nestly prayed  the  Lord  not  to  lay  his  hand  too  heav- 
ily on  him.  His  last  day  was  a  Sabbath.  "Help, 
Lord,  help ;  O  come,  my  Saviour,"  he  cried.  His 
last  word  was  "Jesus."  On  his  tomb  in  the  German 
Reformed  churchyard  are  Romans  14:8  and  Phil- 
ippians  1:21,  on  the  first  of  which  Dilthey  preached 
his  funeral  sermon. 

He  was  a  very  devoted  missionary  to  God's  an- 
cient people.  For  Biblical  controversy  he  had  re- 
markable gifts,  especially  on  the  Old  Testament 
prophecies  of  Christ.  He  was  very  tactful  to  turn 
everything  so  that  he  might  speak  to  the  Jews  about 
Christ.  "Have  you  a  new  Testament,"  was  asked  a 
Jewish  keeper  of  a  bookstore.  As  he  showed  him  a 
Bible  he  asked  him  if  he  had  read  the  second  part. 
He  replied  that  he  had  read  the  Book  of  Revelation. 
Becker  called  his  attention  to  the  New  Jerusalem 
of  that  book  and  then  passed  on  to  Isaiah  fifty-third 
chapter,  pointing  him  to  Christ.  "But,"  replied  the 
Jew,  "I  will  have  sins  again."  Becker  replied,  "In 
Christ  is  justification  and  strength."    Finding  some 


4IO  Great  Missonaries  of 

young  Jews  talking  in  a  park  about  a  lottery,  Beck- 
er took  the  part  of  one  of  them  who  opposed  lot- 
tery. Two  of  them  said  that  lotteries  were  necessary 
so  as  to  get  enough  to  eat  and  live.  Becker  called 
their  attention  to  Matthew  6:33,  "Give  us  this  day 
our  daily  bread."  He  thus  introduced  Christianity 
to  them  and  urged  it  upon  them.  To  a  dealer  in 
clothing  he  spoke  the  clothing  of  salvation  which 
Christ  has  prepared.  A  woman  once  complained  of 
her  sore  eyes.  "Our  Messiah,"  he  replied,  "opened 
the  eyes  of  the  blind  and  is  the  physician  for  the 
body  and  soul."  Thus  he  preached  Christ,  using 
every  opportunity  to  win  God's  Israel  back  to  Jesus. 


INDEX. 

PAGE 

Introduction. 

Book  I.     Early  Reformed  Missions. 

CHAPTER   I. 

The  First  Reformed  Missionaries  to  Brazil 7 

CHAPTER   II. 

The   Dutch   Reformed    Seminary   under   Walaeus   at 

Leyden     21 

CHAPTER   III. 

The  Dutch  Reformed  Missionaries  in  Brazil 33 

CHAPTER   IV. 

The  Dutch  Reformed  Mission  in  Formosa — the  Cru- 
cifixion of  the   Reformed 37 

Book  II.    The  Reformed  in  Africa. 

CHAPTER   I. 

Theodosius    Vanderkemp 51 

chapter  II. 
Eugene    Casalis 71 

chapter  III. 
Adolphe    Mabille 94 


j  PAOE 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Francis  and  Christian  Coillard no 

CHAPTER  V. 

Paul  Berthoud  and  Ernest  Creux 13S 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Escande  and  Minault — the  Reformed  Martyrs 147 

Book  III.    The  Reformed  in  Asia. 

A. — India. 

chapter  I. 

Alphonse   F.   Lacroix IS7 

chapter  II. 
John    Scudder 189 

chapter  hl 
Jacob    Chamberlain 205 

B. — China. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

David    Abeel 222 

CHAPTER  V. 

John  Van  Nest  Talmadge 235 

CHAPTER  VI. 

William  E.  Hoy  and  the  New  Mission  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  in  the  United  States 245 


PAGE 

C. — Japan. 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Guido  F.   Verbeck 249 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Mission  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United 
States     262 


D. — Mohammedan  Lands. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Benjamin   C.   Schneider 275 

CHAPTER  X. 

Samuel    M.    Zwemer 289 

Book  IV.    The  Reformed  in  the  East  Indies. 

CHAPTER   I. 

Jan  Kam,  the  Apostle  to  the  Moluccas 301 

CHAPTER   II. 

Emde,  the  Watchmaker  of  Surabaya 317 

CHAPTER  IIL 

John   F.   Riedel 335 

Book  V.    The  Reformed  in  America. 

CHAPTER   I. 

John    Megapolensis 357 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  II. 

George   M.    Weiss 367 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Mission  to  the  Winnebagoes 373 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Indian  Mission  in  Oklahoma 377 

Book  VI.    The  Reformed  Among  the  Jews. 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Wonderful  Mission  at  Buda-Pesth 383 

CHAPTER  II, 

Ferdinand   W.    Becker 399 


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